DOH urges people to be cautious when buying street food this summer

The Department of Health (DOH) urged the public to be cautious when consuming street food especially during summer season when cases of diarrhea and other microbe-related illnesses spike up. In an interview with News to Go's Cesar Apolinario, DOH representative Lyndon Lee Suy said diarrhea cases peak during the summer break when children have better access to street food. “Prone kasi nga dahil nasa kalye, exposed sa lahat ng posibleng carrier ng organism tulad ng flies [at] insekto,” Lee Suy explained. He also said the preparation and handling of streetfood might not be hygienic which results in diseases caused by microbes. Apolinario also interviewed some street vendors to check how they prepare their products. Nilo Casuala, a fruit vendor says he always make sure that his fruits are fresh and that they are separated from the peeled skin of the fruit to prevent flies from coming near. Casuala also said that he keeps his fruits cold through placing ice adding that “pag mawalan siya ng lamig mapapanis yun.” Meanwhile, ice scramble vendor Ariel Tolledo says he makes sure that the ice he buys is clean for the safety of his customers. He also said they maintain clean ingredients and food preparation utensils. “Sa amin kasi kailangan hugas hugasan mo yung gmait. Kailanagn pag kinaumagahan malinis yun. At yung yelo ayaw namin kumuha ng bloke. Marumi yun kasi yung bloke parang may latak,” Tolledo told Apolinario. As a reminder, the DOH said that keeping food clean is ultimately a vendors responsibility to their customers. “Ang responsibilidad din naguumpisa yan sa mga nagbebenta ng pagkain na siguraduhin nila o mapanatili nilang maayos at nasa tamang condition yung mga binebenta nilang pagkain dahil obligasyon nila yun sa kanilang mga bumibili,” Lee Suy said. Reminder from the DOH The DOH also released a health advisory in November last year to remind the public to exercise food safety habits to avoid and prevent contracting illnesses due to food contaminated with microbes. The advisory specifically stated to investigate first if the streetfood that you'd like to eat was “prepared, cooked and and handled in hygienic manner” before you indulge. It also advised to regularly was your hands before eating and always check for the expiration date of the food before buying. - Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News