Is your summer ‘thanda’ in Hyderabad safe?

Quite often, in the urgency to grab a cool drink, people, especially those who spend a lot of time outdoors, and even petty vendors tend to overlook basic precautions that are mandatory to ensure food safety and illnesses

Hyderabad: People have an affinity to grab a ‘thanda’ to hydrate when temperatures consistently start to peak. Quite often, in the urgency to grab a cool drink, people, especially those who spend a lot of time outdoors, and even petty vendors tend to overlook basic precautions that are mandatory to ensure food safety and illnesses.

To avoid outbreak of food and water-borne ailments, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in its advisory has been urging small food business operators to observe basic precautions while handling high risk food items like cut fruits, fresh juice, beverages and salads.

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The FSSAI has also urged vendors like juice shops to maintain basic good hygienic practices that are vital to ensure food safety and prevention of water and food-borne diseases during summer. Usually, FSSAI also makes it mandatory for petty vendors to register with them. The registration is usually granted by the authorities after being satisfied with the safety, hygiene and sanitary conditions of the premises.

However, recent inspections by Food Safety authorities at five juice centres in Ameerpet painted a very different picture. In addition to major food safety violations at several levels, at least three such facilities even did not have a valid FSSAI license to prepare and sell.

“Apart from heat strokes, consumption of stale food and contaminated water are the two most common causes for illness during peak summer. Water-borne ailments are usually associated with lack of access to potable drinking water while heat strokes are due to exposure to high temperatures of over 40 degree Celsius,” says seasonal diseases expert and senior health, Dr K Shankar.

The State public health department has also urged general public to avoid or at least keenly observe whether the petty vendors follow basic hygienic practices. “If they don’t observe basic hygiene, better to avoid them, instead of falling sick,” public health officials said.

How to maintain hygiene?

• Fresh fruits /vegetables cut or juiced should be used immediately

• Short storage should be only under refrigeration in sanitized and properly covered vessels.

• Water used in beverages and ice should be potable

• Food should not be stored in the same container that is used to store ice.

• Juice concentrates must be checked regularly for fungal growth/change of colour, odour or gas

• Juice dispensing machine should be cleaned and rinsed with water regularly.

• Cream to be used should be stored covered under refrigeration.

• Finished products should be refrigerated with proper labels indicating date of expiry.

• Products should be properly wrapped/ packaged after proper cooling.

What to do when one falls sick?

• For vomiting, doctors advise children to take Ondansetron on prescription

• The medicine, however, has to be administered carefully to the child

• Sometimes IV injection can be administered to control vomiting

• For diarrhea, avoid solid foods, sugary drinks, caffeine, alcohol

• Administer ORS, hand wash, utensils must be clean, cleans fruits and vegetables