How to survive street food?

Street food in India

Street food in India is very famous, especially in the urban society. People love eating street food. Street food vendors provide ready to eat food and at a very reasonable price.  The increase in the street food vendors is because of increase in unemployment, population increase, and demand by the dwellers who can afford only street food. Street food has become an important part of our lives. In some parts of the world, street food has gained so much popularity that people are turning them into brands by sharing their food pictures and giving fantastic reviews on social media.

Street food in India

Street food has its own food trend. The food products differ in every country, so is the case with the hygiene level. In some countries, the street food reflect the traditional cultures and contains various food facts within those cultural dimensions. The main reason behind the success of street food vendors is that they are available everywhere and sometimes even at a few meters of distance.

More than just a street food, it is an emotion for some and way of earning for some. 

Is street food safe?

It is not very easy to say that street food is very safe. It totally depends upon the vendor, location of the street food vendor, and the food material that the vendor is using. It has been argued by the WHO that not all street food is safe and the reason behind that is:

  1. Some street food contains an extreme level of toxic chemicals, pesticides, and unapproved food additives.
  1. As they are on roads and in open environments, food surely contains contaminated dust and pollution from the vehicles around the store.
  1. Street food sometimes contains dangerous bacteria which leads to cholera and other dangerous health diseases.

Every country has its own rules and regulations regarding governing of street food. But sometimes, due to a large number of street food vendors, it becomes difficult to implement or follow the rules and regulations. Nowadays, consumers prioritize quality and accessibility of food. Their main concern is the quality of food. They keep a close check on the street food vendor’s neatness. But these consumers are very few and far in between. Majority of people prefer economically priced food and due to this, they compromise on the quality of the food they are served with.

Few tips and tricks to survive street food

Street food in IndiaIf you will ask a traveler how they survive while traveling, the answer in the first instance will be “street food”. They have the reasons and the knowledge to survive street food, but there are people who have neither and they suffer due to it. Here are some tips and tricks to survive street food:

Go where locals are going

It is true that locals of a particular area know every place better than the visitors. If a local is avoiding a particular street food vendor, then you must avoid that vendor too. Any vendor with the crowd and popular among the local families is usually safe.

Try to eat vegetarian food only

If you are having an outing and planning to eat at a street food vendor, try to avoid meat and chicken as you never know how long meat was kept outside before stuffing it or whether it was defrosted or not. So, it’s somewhat safe to eat vegetarian against non-vegetarian food.

Check complete neatness and cleanliness

Street food in IndiaIt should be your moral responsibility to check the cleanliness of the vendor’s place. Before ordering food, do an audit of the habits of the vendor. If they are not cleaning that area, not using gloves to serve food, using old and dirty knives to cut vegetables, try to avoid them and eat at a cleaner and safer place instead.

Check if any additive is being used or not

Not all additives are bad. But before eating, kindly check whether the vendor is using any kind of color to fry the food. Also, keep a check at the oil, Ifthe oil has debris, then try to avoid the food at that place.

Avoid half-baked food items

Half-baked or half-cooked food items are not good for the health and can lead to harmful diseases and can harm human digestion system.  So try to avoid half-baked food.

Avoid anything stored in a jug

Street food in IndiaKindly avoid any drink item stored in a jug, as you never know since how long the drinking item was kept. Only accept frosted items unless you are convinced with the quality.

Pin these food tips and tricks and try to avoid unhygienic street food to keep yourself healthy.

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