Beware of your street food madness!

CEBU, Philippines - Do you have a certain penchant for street foods?

Street foods are ready-to-eat foods, ranging from finger foods and fast foods. These are sold from a portable stall often along the streets or in public places.

Street foods, for many Cebuanos, have already become a quick solution to their empty stomach. It has become a convenient source of food for their healthy appetites, especially when these food carts are found in almost every highway, under skywalks, and near schools, hospitals, and offices.

One of the possible reasons Cebuanos love street foods is that it is affordable and a most accessible means of obtaining a complete meal outside the homes, especially for low-and-middle-income consumers. No wonder, over 2.5 billion people eat street foods every day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Here are some examples of the famous street foods in Cebu:

Kwek-kwek. Quail eggs covered in orange-colored dough and deep fried.

Tempura. This is seafood that has been battered and deep fried.

Ginabot. This is the local version of “chicharong bulaklak”.

Squid balls are made from squid, ground into a fine paste and then formed into balls.

Fish balls. These are well-seasoned balls of ground fish and eggs and crushed crumbs simmered in fish stock

Betamax are cubed and curdled blood of a chicken.

Helmet refers to marinated and grilled head of a chicken.

Atay refers to marinated and grilled liver of a chicken.

Isaw is chicken intestine placed on a stick and grilled.

There are also street foods which are considered fillers for the stomach like:

Banana Cue is a combination of bananas and flour, deep fried until golden brown.

Mais is corn on a cob but it could also be salted boiled corn.

Green Mango with bagoong refers to unripe mango in a plastic with salty, fermented sauce, or paste made from small shrimps or fish.

But does the satisfaction and savings you get from eating street foods healthy for you? You should be aware that despite the satisfaction that it can give you, there are possible health issues that could affect you.The major concern of eating street foods is related to sanitation problems. In the streets, there are waste accumulations and congested waste water drains.

“I believe that street foods are generally unhealthy to eat,” said Dr. Marissa G. Cuenco.

She stated that a person who always eats street foods may develop cardiovascular diseases because of the oil or fat that is used to cook this kind of food. He or she may also get sick of acute gastroenteritis, hepatitis infection, and typhoid fever, among others.

Acute  Gastroenteritis  is an extended and possibly fatal attack of stomach flu. It is an inflammation in the bowels caused mainly by an infection. It results to diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain.

Hepatitis infection is liver inflammation due to a viral infection.   It may present in acute (recent infection, relatively rapid onset) or chronic forms.

Typhoid fever is a common worldwide bacterial disease transmitted by the ingestion of food contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contains the bacterium Salmonella Typhi.

Other causes of infection are the food growing yeast because it is not properly stored, and flies.

“We should all be sure that the food we are eating is hygienically prepared,” Cuenco added.

Concerns of cleanliness and freshness often discourage people from eating street foods.

It has been proven by research that street foods are prepared and served unhygienically because of its surroundings. One can get bacterial and viral infections eating contaminated food. The bacteria can be passed from the hands of the food vendors or by the unhygienic way they prepare and serve the food.

There was this case of a woman in her forties who suffered from vomiting, scarred skin, and muscle pains after eating calamares along the streets. A series of laboratory tests conducted by the Bureau of Food and Drugs found out that there was a huge amount of formalin, a form of formaldehyde (a preservative) in the imported frozen squids. The contaminated calamares caused the adverse effects in the woman’s body that circulated through her blood.

Celyn Cardoza, 18, a Masscomm student, and an avid street food eater, shared her life changing experience with regards to eating street foods. “I really love eating street foods and at the same time, as a student, I get to save from it while my tummy is filled. I get tempted to buy every time I see those mouth-watering ready-to-eat foods. Before going home, I never miss the chance to eat tempura, squid ball, fish ball, or kwek-kwek. But this habit of mine ended when I got sick,” Cardoza stated.

It was on October 2007 when she was diagnosed with dengue and unfortunately, her results were also positive with typhoid fever; thus, making her case worse. “I always had high fever even though I have already recovered from dengue. Another side effect was my frequent hair fall, which made me thought I had cancer. I thought that was the end of my life but luckily enough, I survived,” she added.

The doctor advised her to drink fresh milk to flush out the bacteria in her stomach and be mindful of her street food consumption because they are believed to be unhygienic. “From then on, I am already conscious of what I should eat outside because I don’t know how these foods were prepared, especially street foods. I am now trying to avoid those mouth-watering street foods. I am not risking my health for them,” Cardoza added.

Street foods may be cheap and yummy, but are you willing to risk your health for it? So before you eat street foods again, just bear this question in mind, “Street foods are too tempting to resist, but are you willing to take a risk when it comes to your health?”