april ma y - AE.AE

SAFETY WHILE EATING OUT
Taking a break from home cooking and choosing to eat out at
a restaurant is something most of us like to do every now and
then. When choosing a restaurant, we’re more likely to go for a
place that we’re familiar, with pleasant staff and surroundings.
And more importantly, most of us will be reassured if our
favourite restaurant outlets observe fastidious hygiene practices.
Imagine for a moment the horror of catching bugs in your drink
just after you have finished paying for your drinks, or finding a
cockroach in your salad! Would you excuse yourself and leave the
restaurant or stay on just to be polite?
In recent years, appalling hygiene standards in some restaurants
has taken the fun out of dining in local restaurants. Disgusted
customers have witnessed very unpleasant habits. Turning a
blind eye to situations where hygiene standards are flagrantly
ignored, can put you at risk of ill health.
Recent research has revealed that 70% of the time, the ice in fastfood
restaurants contains more bacteria than toilet water. Most
often, people suffering from gastric infections, blamed eating out
as the cause of the illness. Also, most of us are unaware of the
cleanliness levels at the food outlets we frequent.
As guests at restaurants, we never get to see the environment
where our food is prepared, however clues to look out for include
the cleanliness of the staffs’ uniforms, dirty mop buckets left out,
overflowing waste bins, greasy tables, and unattended toilets. The
logic being: If the areas that can be seen by the public turns out to
be filthy, then it goes without saying that the hidden areas where
customers have no access, may be a lot worse.
Eating out at small restaurants were food is displayed in the
open is even more risky. Such food should be avoided at all costs
because bacteria tend to multiply in moist food between 5 and
63 degrees centigrade. A single bacterium on food left outside
the fridge for at least an hour or more, is enough to make you
sick. It’s always best to have your food served piping hot and have
all meat properly cooked. Food-borne infections are caused by
bacteria in food. If bacteria become numerous and the food is
eaten, bacteria may continue to grow in intestines, resulting in
illnesses. Infections can also occur from the consumption of
toxins (or poisons) produced in food by bacterial growth. In
such cases, Toxins, not bacteria, cause the illness. Toxins may
not alter the appearance, odor or flavor of food. Such infections,
called Food intoxication, are a lot more severe than common
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bacterial infections. Toxins pose a greater threat, as they do not
get degenerated due to heat, therefore, will remain potent even
after proper methods of cooking.
Food hygiene certificates are often displayed in most food
outlets. Because this is mandatory, ironically, even the restaurants
which have staff with bad practices have them displayed at the
front. Care should be taken to avoid all restaurants where you
have witnessed bad hygiene practices, as these places have a
higher chance of bacterial contamination of food.
Insects crawling in restaurants, found in food are also other
aspects to look out for; as these are also vectors causing illnesses,
as they invariably contaminate food with bacteria or other
pathogens that cause infections.
At this point, I want to bring to your notice, an incident that
occurred in our office recently. Juice ordered from a certain
restaurant at lunch contained so many tiny cockroaches floating
on top of the container, which shocked all of us present. We were
lucky that they could be seen, hence nobody consumed the juice.
What if it had gone unnoticed and somebody consumed the
food? Or how many times have we fallen ill due to consumption
of such contaminated food? So let us all be aware of such threats
and in future, check the food that we eat.
A snapshot of the bugs in the juice
More importantly, let us take extra care to eat or order out only
from hygienic restaurants. While eating out remains a popular
way to socialise with friends and family, going in search of a
clean eating outlet is the best way to ensure we are relaxed about
what we put in your mouth. Let us all be aware that HEALTH IS
INDEED WEALTH.
Avinash, QHSE Manager