32 persons hospitalised following food poisoning

Bakewell Bakery, where food poison at Baba Nagar in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

About 32 persons were hospitalised, mostly women and children, after consuming snacks purchased reportedly from a bakery at Hafeezbabanagar. The condition of a few is stated to be critical, officials maintained.
Of the 32 persons, five were admitted to Fever Hospital, eight at community health centre – Barkas, another 19 at two private hospitals in old city.
After the incident, the GHMC officials sealed Bake Well Bakery located at Omer Hotel junction in Hafeezbabanagar.

Fall sick after having burgers

The affected persons said that they ate chicken burger and pastries three days ago and soon fell sick.
“I bought chicken burgers on Saturday and after consuming them six of my family members complained of vomiting and diarrhoea. After visiting private clinics we came to Barkas Hospital,” said Qasim, a plumber from Hafeezbabanagar.
Khairunnisa Begum, a housewife from the same locality, said that her son Syed Aleem bought burgers on Sunday and four of her family members fell sick after consuming them.
Dr. Rajeev, Superintendent, Barkas community health centre, said that seven persons were admitted to the hospital while four were referred to Fever Hospital for treatment.
A few more left after taking outpatient treatment, he said.

Eatables to be tested

Meanwhile, N. Ravi Kiran, Additional Commissioner (Health & Sanitation), GHMC said: “The eatables collected from the bakery will be sent to State Food Laboratory for bacteriological analysis.”
He refuted earlier reports of any deaths in the incident. Kanchanbagh police registered a case and have begun investigation.

‘Organise annadhanam only with prior permission’

A food safety consultative meet was organised with eateries and hotels in Nagore on Monday as part of the preparatory exercise for Kandhuri festival. All hotels and eateries have been directed to maintain hygiene to ensure the safety of pilgrims.

The food safety department has also warned outlets against selling packed food items beyond expiry date. Hotels and eateries are also directed to ensure that stale oil is not used for cooking. The meeting assumes significance in the light of food poisoning incidents during the Velankanni festival, where close to 100 police personnel fell ill due to the use of expired rava and edible oils.

Those seeking to serve annadhanam for pilgrims should take prior clearance from food safety officials. Strict action will be initiated against those selling stale meat, vegetables or any other edibles not fit for consumptions, officials have warned. Tea stalls have been told not to parcel tea in plastic bags.

Representatives of the Nagore chamber of commerce took part in the meet held by A.T.Anbazhagan, food safety officer, Nagapattinam.

‘Artificial sweetener not for children, pregnant women’

Diabetologists prefer using sucralose to Aspartame

When you drop that pill into your coffee or tea to sweeten it, you hardly wonder about its effect.

Aspartame, an artificial food sweetener, is the most commonly used substitute for sugar. It is used in the manufacture of soft drinks too. However, diabetologists refuse to recommend it for pregnant women or children.

Aspartame, which was synthesised nearly 50 years ago, is the most popular among the various artificial sweeteners.

But some countries have banned it completely as the sweetener, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar, has repeatedly got entangled in medical controversies.

Some years ago, the use of aspartame in low-calorie soft drinks was blamed for causing cancers and premature births. According to the American Cancer Society website, however, studies on aspartame have not established any link to cancer.

Aspartame is used in India but diabetologists prefer sucralose, which they say is a natural product.

“Aspertame cannot be added to hot substances or while cooking as the chemical compound breaks down. We recommend sucralose, a natural product, for cooking purposes,” says diabetologist Anand Moses.

In December, the European Food Safety Authority, after an extensive study, said it was okay to use the sweetener at its current levels — 40mg/kg of body weight/day — points out Vijay Viswanath, managing director, M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram.

Pregnant women and children, however, have no choice. They are allowed to have only sugar and not artificial sweeteners.

Doctors recommend half a teaspoon of sugar for children with diabetes and for adults whose sugar is “well-controlled and are not obese”, the recommended sugar level is 5 gm/day.

Diabetologists do not recommend Aspartame, which

is the most commonly used substitute for sugar

Food inspector arrested while taking Rs 3,000 bribe

Jharkhand vigilance sleuths arrested a food inspector, Sanjay Kumar in RanchiMonday and seized Rs.3,000 from him, said an official.

"We arrested Sanjay Kumar who took a bribe of Rs.3,000 from a restaurant owner for giving him a licence. We were informed by the owner and on Monday, we trapped him by asking the eating outlet proprietor to 'fulfil' his demand," an official of the vigilance bureau said.

He said: "We raided the house of the same official and recovered Rs.80,000 in cash and documents related to investment. We will assess the investment and his properties and may initiate a disproportionate assets case against him."

Street food to be served on a clean platter

With the process of registration of street vendors having begun in Delhi about 10 days ago, the prospects of hygienic food being served by roadside eateries has increased manifold in the Capital.

“We are in direct competition with multi-national companies as they are taking away bulk of the young food lovers with their reasonable offerings and talk of hygiene. So now we are encouraging street food vendors to adopt high standards of food safety and hygiene to compete with the best in business, even if it means recovering some of the additional costs through slightly increased prices,” said Ranjit Abhigyan of National Association of Street Vendors of India, which has been spearheading the campaign for the rights of all street vendors.

As part of the programme, eight areas have been identified across Delhi by the Department of Food Safety of Delhi Government to be developed as “Safe Street Food Zones” where vendors are being encouraged to adopt high standards of hygiene. “Simple things work: like you can have a glass cover around your kiosk to keep out flies and dust, or the staff can be asked to wear a cap or gloves at all times. The vendors are being told that more people will throng their kiosks on finding their food hygienic.”

The reason why a change in the street food profile looks a distinct possibility now is that it has taken much of its inspiration from Singapore, where high standards of hygiene are maintained.

“Eight street vendors from India had participated in the World Street Food Festival there last June and during the educative exercise they were exposed to the practices there,” said Mr. Abhigyan, adding that “even Indian participants at the festival had matched international standards. If they can do it there, why not here?”

Sharad Shrivastava, Managing Director of dStor Technologies, who is a Singapore resident, currently living in Gurgaon, agreed: “I can eat a South Indian breakfast, a Chinese lunch and a continental dinner at the same hawker centre in one day. And all cooked home-style. The variety and quality of food that is readily available at the hawker centres in Singapore is something that I and my family really miss.” But he is hopeful that soon the Indian street food scene would also change for the better.

For the Delhi vendors though, investment in upgrading remains a major issue. A chat seller in Mayur Vihar, Harish Kumar, said: “We try to keep our carts and counters as clean as possible. But we really can’t do much about the dust and filth around us. Things have to be looked at in totality. We are willing to put in some money. But the least the government can do is stop the police and municipal staff from fleecing us regularly.”