Street vendors-Sensitization and training, need of the hour

Street foods seem to be having a fascination for many consumers, though the products made under none too satisfactory conditions, may have potential health dangers at least for some of them with "weak bellies". Whether we like it or not street foods are here to stay and government may be right in closing its eyes towards the existence of such a flourishing businesses activitiy under its very nose across the country. From time to time seminars and workshops are held to "focus" on the problems and dangers of street foods and "recommendations" are made to improve the safety of foods catered by these vendors. There are even international programs to address the problems of street vending as it is a phenomenon common in many countries, especially in Asia. Why is that consumers are attracted to street foods like a magnet, ignoring the possible dangers lurking behind them? The answer is simple, the unique culinary pleasure experienced by them while eating these freshly made and hot foods made in front of them by artisans who excel in creating unique taste and flavor characteristic of many traditional Indian preparations, most of them being not available in regular restaurants. Besides this sector provides gainful earning opportunities to millions of self employed people to eke out a decent living. It is in this context we have to understand the compulsions governments world over have to nurture this sector without seriously impinging on the civic amenities that could be affected by their operations in the pavements meant to be for pedestrianwalking in crowded urban areas.

"With an aim to train street food vendors on cleanliness and hygiene, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) recently organized a workshop in the city. Their training also included various aspects of food preservation techniques. "We were already aware of the cleanliness aspect, but NASVI taught us how to present any food in the right way," said Shyam Sundar, one of the street food vendors. NAVI also distributed I-cards among the registered street food vendors. The workshop was part of the National Street Food Festival that concluded on December 28.When asked what they benefitted from this workshop, the vendors said it helped them increase their profits. "Now, when customers see us wearing gloves and aprons, they believe we serve better quality food than others," said Satish, owner of Satish Snacks in Sarojini Nagar. Gulab Singh, a bhelpuri vendor at India Gate, said though he had gone to Singapore to train the staff of a hotel on bhelpuri making, he was unaware about the tricks of the trades till NASVI taught him. The vendors who are registered with the organization will receive a certificate. They will receive licences once they are found conforming to the cleanliness norm laid down by the civic body. Then they will be allowed to put up their stalls at various places in the city.  Meanwhile, 'Street Saathi', a food book, was launched during the festival, which features all the vendors trained by NASVI. It contains pictures and recipes of various food items. The best part of the book is that it not only tells people about various street food and their preparations, but also sheds light on the lives of the vendors". 

The workshop may be relevant in the context of wide scale misgivings about the safety of these foods and the clientele now enjoying the services of these vendors must be minimum with only adventurous customers patronizing them regularly. If such workshops are held in all the towns and cities in the country more frequently, the quality and safety of the foods made by them will naturally get upgraded in the long term. Civic authorities have a great responsibility in regulating these vendors as they can pose a serious congestion problem with pedestrian and vehicular traffic affected adversely. A master plan for regulating them must be drawn and minimum facilities required by them to ensure food safety must be provided. Strict overseeing of their activities is also necessary. Use of potable water, cleaning of reusable plates and cups and cookwares and waste disposal logistics must be monitored regularly. Recent advent of mobile food vans presents another opportunity for urban dining and snacking and it is time that serious planning is done at the local authorities level to standardize their activities and fixing places where they can park for serving foods. Food Processing Industry Ministry and the Tourism Ministry at Delhi can play a vital role in helping the state governments by designing suitable models of mobile vans with required facilities and laying down national guidelines for their efficient functioning.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

HOW SAFE IS THE "SAFEST" WATER SUPPLIED IN METROS? SOME UNCERTAINTIES

Any visitor to that beckoning continent called America cannot escape getting a feeling about the quality of life the population their enjoy though there are pockets of poverty here and there. Most remarkable is the undisputed quality and safety of water consumed by the people in almost all cities and settlements available through the protected water supply system. Imagine one able consume water even from a toilet tap without fearing about any infectious disease visiting them consequently! Compare this with what goes as protected water supply in a country like India where neither water is supplied regularly nor the safety guaranteed. Most urban areas do not treat raw water and supplies irregularly making people look for ways and means of making it potable and this unenviable situation has spawned an unethical industry that offers bottled water and water treatment gadgets with high price tag. In this context the recent report that the American water supply is not that safe as being touted is shocking indeed. Here is water a "Gorilla" type operation carried out by a group of scientists has brought out. 

"The 53,000 water utilities in the United States deliver some of the safest drinking water in the world — a public health victory of unrivaled success that began in 1908 with chlorination campaigns in Jersey City and Chicago. Still, millions of individual cases of waterborne diseases occur annually and related hospitalization costs approach $1 billion each year. In 2007 and 2008, the most recent years for which figures are available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 164 waterborne disease outbreaks, almost entirely from protozoan cysts of the parasite Cryptosporidium. New rules from the Environmental Protection Agency, instituted after earlier outbreaks, have led New York City and other municipalities with unfiltered surface reservoirs to begin zapping tap water with ultraviolet light to inactivate organisms like Cryptosporidium that resist chlorine-based treatments. The water supply system remains a deteriorating, mostly subterranean infrastructure so complex that in many municipalities officials can't even say where all the pipes are laid. The need for upgrades has never been greater, a report issued this year by the American Academy of Microbiology said, but they first want to understand what's living down there. "We have done the right thing with water treatment," said Joseph O. Falkinham III, a microbiologist at Virginia Tech. "What we have now is an unexpected consequence of doing the right thing."

It is amazing that the gastro system of Americans is so fragile even very minor microbial contamination can make them sick. Detection of protozoan parasites in deeply embedded supply lines explains why Americans get water borne infectious diseases and water safety regulations are now being revisited for making water safer. Another disturbing revelation is that most municipalities have no clue regarding the location of the subterranean supply lines which tend to deteriorate over a period of time. Besides these pipelines laid decades ago with the then prevailing materials and technology will have to be replaced if future water related health problems are to be avoided in a big way. Satellite imaging of subterranean pipes needs to be done to locate them for replacement. As usual civic bodies are starved of funds for renovation and rejuvenation of infrastructure like water supply and it is time federal government intervenes to pump massive funds for this purpose. Citizens also must pitch in with their share of the cost to make the urban living safer for future generations to come. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

POTABLE WATER FROM SEA-SOLAR STILLS FOR HOMES

Water is becoming more and more precious with each passing day because of scarcity caused by global warming and reckless ground water extraction. While in many developed countries citizens are "showered" with abundant water, most poor countries have to live with the reality that even the minimum recommended water need of their citizens remains a dream! A country like India lives perpetually short of water even for agriculture, with more than 80% of water requirement being met by rains which have a tendency to play the "hide and seek" game and if rains fail the whole economy get adversely impacted. In the urban landscape, each town or city is supposed to provide protected water supply to its residents. Here again most citizens consider themselves lucky even if good water comes through their taps at least once in a day, that too for a couple of hours! Talking about rural folks, water is like a mirage and whatever is available cannot be considered potable making them vulnerable to multitude of water borne diseases through out their life. What a fate! It is in this context that a recent report claiming the design of a pure water producing solar based contraption that can supply at least 5 liters of pure water a day, even from sea water, is kindling some hope for these folks. This low cost solar water still can be a boon to millions of villagers who are fortunate to have some source of water in their area. Have a close look at this gadget from the report quoted below.

"As a graduate student, Italian designer Gabrielle Diamanti's travels exposed him to the global water crisis and the issue became a fascination for him. Fortunately he's been able to use his skills as a designer to create something that could make a big difference for those with little access to clean water. The Eliodomestico is an open source design for what is essentially a solar still, but with thoughtful details to make it even more functional and easy to use for those in coastal areas where salt water is abundant, but fresh water isn't. Technology doesn't always have to be complicated, sometimes the simplest materials and concepts are the best. The Eliodomestico works like an upside-down coffee percolator to desalinate salt water. The ceramic oven has three main pieces. The top black container is where the salt water is poured. As the sun heats the salt water and creates steam, the pressure that builds pushes the steam through a pipe in the middle section. The steam condenses against the lid of the basin at the bottom and then drips into the basin, where it is collected. The oven can make about five liters of fresh water a day. The design can be built for about $50 and although Diamanit used terracotta for his prototypes, local craftsmen can use whatever materials are most abundant where they live. The basin is also designed to be comfortably carried on the head, which is common in sub-Saharan Africa and other places around the world. Solar still technology is old and not uncommon to find in developing nations, but it's often on a much larger scale, like at hospitals or water desalination plants that serve entire communities. Diamanti wanted to create this open source project so that individual families could have access to the same desalination process in a simple-to-use format".
Desalination of sea water has become a viable proposition and commercial desalination plants using reverse osmosis process are operating in many countries. However distillation using solar heat and recovering pure water for use in house holds can be a boon as the processing cost will be very low. Besides it is green technology with no carbon foot print of any consequence. The non-conventional energy agencies, water management organizations, health departments and village authorities must work 

together to bring the results of the above development group to every village starving for potable water in different parts of the world. Each and every school in rural areas must be fitted with such solar stills to provide safe drinking water to the children attending the schools. Tremendous expansion of the bottled water industry during the last two decades owes it entirely to the inaction and morbidity of government agencies in addressing this problem with any sense of urgency or commitment. Will the central and state governments in India at least wake up now and look at the solar still as a viable solution to the potable water shortage in the country? The helpless citizens can only wait and see.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com