Over the years, with the emergence of the industrial society from an agrarian one, our food habits have drastically changed. There is a craze for outdoor eating either on roadside stalls or in cosy restaurants to taste the rich variety of dishes in our rainbow society. But little do we realise how we put at stake our health. Caveat: what is good for the palate can turn out to be harmful to our health.

The recent food poisoning of about 56 people at Rose-Belle after having consumed kebabs sent a shockwave across the country and we ask ourselves the question as to how safe it is to eat outdoors nowadays. The proliferation of restaurants and roadside food stalls represents certainly a booming business but the authorities cannot allow this sector to degenerate into anarchy with its complacency and laxity in the application of the Food Act, though long promulgated in 1998.

Can we put at stake public health when the ministry of Health is spending colossal sums on health care and treatment of the population? We are digging our graves with our own teeth. Many cases of food poisoning are left unreported. There is absolutely no control in this sector. Rickety corrugated iron food stalls are installed any-where across the island even near public toilets or ditches of stagnant water. Hygiene has long been banished in their dictionary. Hawkers are found picking their noses or scratching their heads while serving customers.

The state of the kitchen in certain obscure restaurants is horrifying: rats scurrying around, vegetables are not washed before being cooked, utensils are never kept clean. Flies buzz around; the cooks? aprons are worn out beyond use and stink. The meat served has been frozen and defrosted many a time. Sweat trickles down into the curry and saliva of the hawker sprinkles over the ?dholl puri? notwithstanding the fact that they may suffer from a contagious ailment. The helpers? fingers are dived into the glasses of alouda. Sometimes dirty coins fall into the dishes of mouth-watering curry.

In certain supermarkets, to reduce the cost of their electricity bill, the owners switch off their freezers at night. In bakeries and shops, some consumers have the bad habit of handling numerous loaves before choosing one to buy. The pickles sold on the roadside come from unknown sources (home-made). It is common knowledge that, once in a wedding buffet in a well-known restaurant, numerous guests suffered from acute diarrhoea after consuming the food served. Since that day, the reputation of the said restaurant has been soiled. It is not surprising that many foreigners frown at the way food is served on the roadside.

The situation is worse at school level. Schoolchildren become the innocent victims. Many of our kids rely on hawkers to fill up their stomachs. The cakes are fried in recycling oil. Food hawkers abound the schoolyard and any fool can be converted into this business to make money at the expense of innocent victims.

Who cares after all? The law of the jungle prevails.

It is the land of laissez-aller and laisser-faire.

Philip Li Ching Hum