Public Health Dept: street food is safe
Tis the season…to eat. And with all that food in mind, today we hit the streets of Belize City to find out just how safe all that grub is.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Have you ever wondered just how safe food sold on the street is? That question might be the farthest thing from our minds as we digest the colourful displays and inhale those enticing smells. But really, those things don?t tell us anything about how that food was prepared, who?s been touching it, and what?s in it besides the ingredients.
According to Senior Public Health Inspector Mark Bernard, the buying public cannot afford to be complacent and should always be observant…especially for things like a food handler?s certificate.
Mark Bernard, Sr. Public Health Inspector, Min. of Health
?I must stress here that even though one may have a valid food handler?s certificate, that the way how the person handles the food, proper hand washing, be careful that flies or other insects don?t come in contact with the food, these are also critical areas that are important, as important as having a valid food handler?s certificate.?
The vendors we approached in downtown Belize City today say they do take the necessary steps to ensure that what they offer is clean and healthy to eat.
Jerrison Lopez, Fruit Vendor
?Firstly you have to have proper storage where you store your fruits at when you?re not here. And whenever people purchase anything from me, if they are ready to eat it I have water to wash it for them, because you have to look after your health.?
Lorraine Perez, Food Vendor
?Prepare it healthy and so on and then you have to make sure that no hair gets in there. You have to go every three months and take a test fi see if everything is okay.?
Leonardo Daniel Tut, Fruit Vendor
?My position I always try to take is to get some fresh fruit. Fruit that is not damaged, not rotten, also try keep them in some nice clean bags. If it?s a whole fruit with the skin to eat, ask the people if they want to rinse it if they are going to eat it on the street to try and prevent that they noh get cholera or whatever.?
Cordelia Taylor, Fruit Vendor
?Wash every bit of them, make sure that you wash your hands and make sure that everything around you is clean. Everyday you bring a clean towel, your knives and your cutting board, make sure that everything is clean.?
A food handler?s certificate is valid for ninety days. If a person is not in possession of the proper document, then his or her license to sell or handle food is suspended for one month.
Many of the vendors we spoke with say they transport water to their stalls from their homes, and officials say monthly checks the city?s water supply reveal that it is ninety nine point nine percent safe to use from the tap.
But as for checking for things like unsanitary conditions and dirty hands, Bernard maintains regular monitoring is done at all locations. Fruit vendor Leonard Daniel Tut agrees with the regulations.
Leonard Daniel Tut, Fruit Vendor
?Actually when they come they ask us to see our hands if they are clean, our fingernails, if we have long fingernails they make sure that we cut our fingernails. If we noh have we handler?s certificate, they suspend us from sell for a whole month until we get the approvement from the food handlers on hand. If we noh have that on hand, they suspend us right away.?
Jacqueline Woods
?Do you have to attend meetings??
Leonard Daniel Tut
?We have to attend meetings actually every four months or six months.?
Today Bernard also had some healthy tips to make sure that this Christmas can be merry.
Mark Bernard
?For example, salad should not be prepared too long in advance, or it should be stored at the proper temperature. It should be kept cool by using an icebox. Turkey, you have a frozen turkey, it takes maybe two to three days to thaw it out. Do not leave it outside in the ambient air or put it in the sun. You should take it and put it in the bottom of the refrige and make sure that it is thawed out. For those places that need more than one quickly, it should be thawed under running water as much as possible. Next, leftovers, there will be a lot of leftovers this Christmas. Please do not leave gravy, stuffings, salad out and then expect that the next day you?re gonna eat it. You?d have already be stuffing your stomach with a lot of drinks and all sort of things and a few bad bacteria getting into your stomach can just spoil your whole holiday. So I want to ask the people who are preparing the food to take extra precaution to make sure that they practice good sanitary techniques to make sure that leftovers are properly stored, make sure they their food are kept at the proper temperature and don?t overload their refridge. Please remember that hot food should not be placed directly into the refridge because it?s gonna increase the temperature of the refridge, thereby leading to food poisoning.?
In November, the Ministry of Health conducted a Training of Trainers workshop for the certification of food handlers and food handling establishments to improve safety standards in Belize.
