‘Avoid street food, as it harms your health’

Vending street food has become an important public health issue in the country’s major cities, particularly Kabul.
Street foods are warned to be harmful to everybody’s health due to widespread diseases, as wayside food vendors lack an adequate understanding of the basic food safety issues all over the cities.
Such foods are perceived to be a major public health risk mostly due to difficulty in controlling the large numbers of vending operations because of their diversity, mobility and temporary nature.
A general lack of factual knowledge about the epidemiological significance of many street foods, poor understanding of vendors in basic food safety measures and inadequate public awareness of hazards posed by certain foods are behind the wide outspread of such foods at the waysides.
The epidemiological studies suggest that street foods contribute to a significant number of food poisoning and the citizens are seriously asked to avoid them.
Dozens of street food vendors are seen moving along the roads calling on the passersby to eat for low payments.
A Kabul citizen, Ali Khan told The Kabul Times that he has witnessed everyday wide number of mobile food vendors along the city, where people are passing along, gathering around and paying for the low-price cuisines.
“People eat them [street vended foods], because these foods are sold with low prices. People are poor and cannot pay for the high price ones. It has negative impact to their health. They should avoid eating them,” he suggested.
Dr. Moral who is also a Kabul resident and working in one of the capital hospitals believed that eating such foods is very harmful to the health as it mostly causes outbreaks of epidemic diseases, such as diarrhea, nausea etc.
“Despite poverty, citizens should avoid eating street foods as they are harmful to their health and the disease can transmit from one to another,” he said.
He also asked the street food salesmen to observe health issues and do not cause outbreak of dangerous diseases, particularly in hot weather.
The Kabul municipality should also do its best to duly collect garbage and the remnants of foods along the streets and take them out of the city, to may not cause outbreak of illness.
Masouda Qarizada