DOH warns traveling public against eating street foods, drinks

Street Food – Photo courtesy of LCQGirl on Wikipedia.

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) warns the traveling public to be careful in buying street foods and drinks peddled in the streets.

According to DOH spokesperson Dr. Lyndon Lee-Suy while they were not trying to give some negative remarks about the quality of street foods and drinks peddled in the streets, the public should be “wise” to decide in buying them.

Dr. Lee-Suy said that in deciding to buy the spread street foods and drinks sold around during summer season, certain factors like preparation and food safety of the foods and drinks being bought should be checked by the consumers.

“If they are not sure on the quality of how it is prepared and also on the appearance of the manner by which they are sold, they should think it not once or twice over before deciding because foods that are not well prepared can lead to food poisoning,” Lee-Suy said.

He also said that food poisoning and diarrhea could lead to severe case of dehydration if not given treatment right-away.

With that, he reminded food peddlers to ensure that the food and drinks they sell and the utensils use on the preparation and in serving through plates, cups, spoon, fork and packaging materials are also clean.

“They should be aware that they also have the responsibility to ensure the safety of the food through proper preparation, cooking and handling that they sell will not lead to serious problems that may put risk to the public (consumers),” the DOH spokesperson said.

Meanwhile DOH Secretary Janette L. Garin said that for those who are bringing packed foods prepared at home should also check if the food is still in good condition before eating them during travel period.

Garin said that due to extreme heat experienced during summer, foods easily get spoiled, which are sometimes left unnoticed especially those that are cooked with vinegar such as “adobo” which usually have sour-salty-sweet taste.

“Due to that reason many children who ate spoiled foods ends up with stomach problems such as diarrhea and vomiting,” she said.

The DOH chief also said that it was important to replace the lost fluids and electrolytes volume-by-volume through hydrite solution [Example: if one cup was vomited, the hydrite (dissolved in water) should also be one cup].

She added that dosage depends upon the age of the children.

She added that such remedy should be given at least thirty minutes to one hour after the vomiting of the child because there is a tendency for the child to still vomit the said solution within that period because the stomach is leaning toward that direction and reversal can happen only after certain period.

As a safety reminder she added that it is the best option to eat before traveling or going to a specific destination or eat right away the packed foods because prolong storage may result to spoilage.

She added that crackers or biscuits as well as tuna flakes can also be taken during traveling period as a safe option.