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Jan 27, 2010
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_482437.html
More care and cleanliness from food handlers, please
I WRITE to seek the help of the relevant authorities to step up the standards of cleanliness in Singapore's food outlets.
I have noticed that more and more food handlers in coffee shops, foodcourts and even restaurants are not taking reasonable care in the line of their work.
I have seen food vendors receiving and changing cash with their food gloves on. A good practice to encourage would be the use of a plate for cash exchanges. In Japan, all cash is placed onto a dish so that coins and notes are easily handled and prevented from dropping into food.
Many food handlers cough while preparing food without wearing face masks. Have they forgotten about the Sars and H1N1 scares?
Equally scary are outlets that heat food in their microwave ovens on plastic dishes that are not microwaveable.
I read recently that more scientists are concerned about the practice of keeping food in plastic containers. Singapore must be the one country where food is most often served heated in plastic containers.
Do we have to wait for another major food scare or crisis to remind food vendors and the public to stop such sloppy habits?
I hope the Environment and Water Resources Ministry, Health Ministry and Singapore Tourism Board will jointly address such concerns.
Ed Cheong
Summary:
I REFER to the forum “More care and cleanliness from food handlers, please” written by Ed Cheong on Straits Times. In this article, Mr. Cheong points out that the cleanliness from food handlers in Singapore made the customers worry. He comes up three aspects: the vendors receive money with their cooking gloves, they heat food in microwave oven with plastic dishes and they even cough during cooking without the masks. At last, Mr. Cheong asks the relevant departments to make the vendors aware of this issue and take steps to avoid food scare or crisis.
Reflection:
I strongly agree with Mr. Cheong that the cleanliness from food handlers should be improved. As I am studying in school now, for every meal I have is in canteen, I can just talk about the cleanliness in our school canteens. Firstly, as Mr. Cheong has mentioned that the vendors use the gloves which they cook food with to receive money, what is worse in our canteen, the vendors do not wear gloves and sometimes their thumbs will put into our dishes, then they will use the same finger to receive our money! Secondly, the plastic dishes can be seen everywhere, and it is not good or healthy to use plastic dishes to contain the hot food. It is a common sense that plastic can release poisons when heated. Finally, vendors do not wear masks, though they may not cough, when they are talking to us, I am afraid that the slobber will drop into the meals.
I know the school canteens are very crowd and busy during meal time, but it cannot be the excuse that the vendors can ignore the cleanliness. Many diseases are caused by eating the unclean food. The relevant departments should make the vendors realize the importance of the food cleanliness and help them to make some differences. After all, health is the most important thing in our life. The healthier we are, the happier we will be.
Vicky(He Yuyue)
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The comment from Irene:
ReplyDeleteAs Vicky said, health is really essential to us. And the safety of food does influence our health. But it makes me feel worried more because what Ed Cheong and Vicky writted in article is the real reflection of the situation in Singapore. I have noticed that three bad habits in Lau Ba Sat, food retails and foodcourts since I began to study in Singapore. In my experiences, that food handlers cough during cooking is hardly seen, but I think it quite necessary for cooks to wear mask in cooking during the special time like the period of H1N1. And for the matter of vendor's receiving money with their cooking gloves, it is totally unendurable. Since we are chilren, we have been told that money is the most dirty thing. These behaviors is irresponsible to consumers' lives. However, as Vicky described, it is common in every canteen in NTU. That is really horrible. As to plastic containers, I am quite disappointed to government of Singapore. Before I came here, I thought Singapore concerns environment more than other countries. But in the use of plastic containers, it is even much worse than China. In the fist two months after I studied here, when I eat food in plastic containers, I always told myself that it is not very harmful for my health otherwise the government of Singapore would ban it to convince myself. But I do not trust it anymore. Using the plastic containers to hold the hot food must have bad influence to consumers. I am not daring to make a risk on it. For me, health is not the only thing I do care, but it is one of them. Like the author of this forum, I hope those bad things could be worked out soon.