Beware of newspaper-wrapped tempting delicacies of vendors!

Rampant violation of FSSAI’s guidelines under the very noses of state authorities

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Beware of vendors’ delicacies that tempt your taste buds! The directive from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) that ‘nobody should pack, serve, and store any food items and pan-tamul with newspapers’ has no takers among street vendors. FSSAI issued this directive as this practice is fraught with the risk of health hazards among consumers.

According to FSSAI, the ink used in newspapers contains various bioactive materials with known negative health effects that can contaminate food and lead to health issues. The responsibility of monitoring and enforcing the directive of FSSAI lies with the state food authorities. However, food vendors on the streets rampantly use newspapers to wrap food items like pokora, samosa, gram mixtures, and the like and serve them to consumers without any hesitation.

Of late, the civic bodies in many other states in the country have been taking up awareness drives among food vendors for the enhancement and maintenance of food safety and hygiene in the food they serve. However, no such initiative is seen in any civic areas in Assam.

The main objective of this initiative is ‘to increase the knowledge and skill of street food vendors about food safety rules, hygienic practice, and safe handling of food.’

The situation in Assam is pathetic. Street vendors prepare food items in the most unhygienic places with scant regard to cleanliness and serve them to consumers under the very noses of civic bodies, food inspectors, and others concerned.

According to a health official, street food vendors have a strong bond with their consumers. Since this practice is age-old, the authorities concerned need to see that the vendors serve hygienic food to the consumers.

A senior doctor of the GMCH said, “We need to blame it on the consumers as well. Consumers need to know that newspapers are often subjected to various environmental conditions during distribution, making them susceptible to contamination by bacteria, viruses, or pathogens that may transfer to food, potentially causing food-borne illness.”

Also Read: Assam's Legal Metrology Department Issues Essential Advisory for Vendors and Consumers

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