The next emergency: Fishball Contamination

CEBU, Philippines - Oozing brown gravy sauce dripped as he took the stick of fishballs from the sauce jar to his mouth. So did the young boys and teenage girls who had stopped under the shade of big trees at the plaza to enjoy fishballs and tempura. There was much giggling this morning. They had come from a 5-kilometer jogging race. Teenagers and children devoured the fishballs as though these were water in a desert.

Kuya Bren, held back from coughing as he fried more fishballs and tempura on his makeshift stove. His throat was itching and his back aching but vending fishballs had been his livelihood all these years. He had staked a claim on these rows of trees where he had been selling fishballs despite hide-and-seek, hit-and-run affairs with the city's anti-peddling teams. This Sunday morning had been the timing he needed. Participants of a jogging race ended at the plaza for their last lap and there were school children rehearsing their parade dance. Participants queued and huddled to buy fishballs and tempura.

  There was just one dark secret behind the lush. Kuya Bren had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. As boys and girls giggled sticking their fishballs and dipping these in sauce and vinegar, little did they know of the contagion they were bringing to their lives. What they don't know will definitely hurt them. The tusok-tusok the fishball may actually be the tusok-tusok of tuberculosis -that's not an easy thing to swallow or giggle about.

 If there was a food poisoning calamity in the city, would you be careful about food safety? Would people heed the warning about eating street food especially during festivities and public parades where food vendors abound?

 Chain of Contamination.

The National Nutrition Council 7 warns of heavy contamination in street food such as pre-packed food along the sidewalk, banana cue, fishball, barbecue such as chicken intestines, hotdog, ice cream, lechon manok and liempo and everything else where food safety and handling is difficult to monitor and regulate. Many people think that because lumpia or chicken sold on the side walk were cooked in deep fry, it's safe. Unfortunately, it's not.

in food handling starts from the time of storage, to purchase, to hygienic practices of the food handler, to inadequate cooking, to unsafe water, to use of dirty utensils and equipment, to expired and sewage contaminated food. Even the health and hygienic practices of the food handler make street food a lurking menace for food poisoning outbreak.

The potential for food disease outbreaks can range from meat-based dishes, processed meat, fish and other seafood dishes, bakery and confectionary products and beverages, to name a few. What often cause food borne illnesses are poor personal hygiene and the health of the handler, time-temperature abuse and cross contamination. These may not sound as menacing as being told of cancer, SARS or AIDS. But then the overall effect is almost as debilitating as all three.

Cross contamination usually occurs when microorganisms are transferred from one surface to another as what often happens with fishball, banana cue and other street food. Even those packed food in plastic bags that's being peddled in offices are equally vulnerable for microorganisms to become part of the garnish.

 Time-temperature abused food are those food that has been allowed to remain for too long at temperatures favorable for growth of microorganisms. Lechon manok and liempo that are time-temperature abused could be as lush and delicious to microorganisms as these are to human beings. And yes just because the food that a woman peddler nearby is cheap and you can have a meal at thirty-pesos with rice and viand, it does not mean it is safe.

 Then of course is the hygiene and health of the handler. Definitely, the fishball and tempura vendor and the banana cue and chicken wings and intestine vendors don't have to go through medical check up to convince people that their food is safe.

  Were we in the dark all this time? Republic Act 7394 or the Consumer Act Of The Philippines calls for the implementation of food safety measures in the Philippines. There has been an increasing concern for food safety because of the increasing number of food-borne pathogens and diseases, high level of uncertainty surrounding street food and public interest in microbial food safety and dietary concerns. How enforcement is done is a safety concern.

Thing is, you don't know you have been poisoned until two hours after you have eaten and in the case of highly communicable diseases like tuberculosis, the unseen enemy is not known until a person goes through regular medical check up. If you have abdominal pains, diarrhea, vomiting or nausea and dizziness after you have eaten of street food, then in all likelihood you have an enemy inside that is microscopically small but terrible - if you will.

 The Next Emergency.

 The National Nutrition Council 7 is sending strong unsolicited advice to local government units to regulate street food vending especially on health and safety concerns in food handling. This means coming up with laws that regulate the safety of street food in schools, side walk and everywhere else.

 Just like the quake and the storm, people in Cebu did not know they were ill-prepared for a quake and a storm until these came. Until there is a food poisoning outbreak, Kuya Bren and unsafe food handlers could put our streets, our children, our people the next scene, the next victims of an emergency.