A Proven Dilemma
By Melrein John DR Viado
Apart from being one of man’s most basic physiological needs, food also plays an important role in defining his identity, both as an individual and as a distinct component of the society he belongs to. Food and all its attendant complexities contribute to a culture’s richness. Like science, food has been studied, taught and experimented on. Like art, it forms an integral part of the heritage left over (pun not intended) by generations past. Like both science and art, studying food provides our generation with the needed guidance to ensure that we survive long enough to mould the habits of generations yet to come.
Like in any other country, street food in the Philippines is very much part of the nation’s pop culture.
Fishball, Kwek-kwek, Balut and many others, have all become a part of what makes a Filipino. Ranking side by side with pastel and the motorela, “chicken proven” is considered to be one of the components that makes the Kagay-anon’s identity distinct from those of his fellow Filipinos.
Although there are several who make a living out of the said street food, due to an abrupt increase in food-contamination related diseases/deaths, it is also proven to be one of the deadliest killers within the city.
Street foods like proven are deemed unsanitary and are not advisable to eat. This is because of the preparation process of these street foods which hardly meet local and international food safety standards. Because of improper handling of raw materials which are later on converted into these delicacies, vendors put their patrons in high risk of contracting food-borne diseases. The most notable and probably the deadliest of these diseases is Hepatitis.
Hepatitis is a condition characterized by the inflammation of the liver. Symptoms of this disease include jaundice (or the yellow discoloration of the eyes, skin, and mucus membranes), nausea, diarrhea, headache, and loss of appetite. Hepatitis has a lot of variations. The most popular type of Hepatitis is Hepatitis B which complications’ could lead to much fatal diseases such as liver cancer and liver cirrhosis.
According to a research by the Hepatology Society of the Philippines (HSP), November last year, close to nine million Filipinos are suffering from Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. One of eight Filipinos has Hepatitis.
Liver cirrhosis is highly attributed to hepatitis. The said condition, which is defined by the scarring of the liver, is highly fatal. Liver diseases rank 14th among the top 20 causes of death in the Philippines.
As a matter of fact, data from Cagayan de Oro’s city health office identifies liver cirrhosis and liver cancer as one of the top 11 leading causes of mortality within the city. 86 died of liver cirrhosis and 544 of all-forms of cancer just last year.
As the old saying goes, “A pound of prevention is worth an ounce of cure”.
At all cost, hepatitis should be prevented from escalating into cancer or cirrhosis. One should get rid of the possibility of acquiring hepatitis in the first place.
With hepatitis being a food-borne disease, one should be extremely conscious of how safe the food they’re eating is. The viruses which cause this illness are contracted by ingesting a little amount of the virus or having really close contact with an infected person.
And so, in an effort to minimize the contraction of such diseases, President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act no. 10614 (or the food and safety act of 2013) which caters to the well-being of consumers and food business operators alike. It ensures the safety of consumers by penalizing establishments which products do not pass the inspection process of the Food Safety Regulatory Agencies (FSRA). Violators of the said act are to pay 50, 000 to 500,000 PHP, stay a certain amount of time in prison and their permit to operate their business is revoked.
In the local scene, even with project Hapsay Dalan (which also limits the number of street food vendors along the city’s sidewalks in rush hours) being implemented, you would still notice the number of food carts decorating the city’s sidewalks.
Mr, Alison Sacabin, Chief Sanitation Inspector of the CdO’s Environmental division, stated that street food vendors in the city increased by nearly 5% this year.
Even though Hepatitis has a known cure, we should not risk acquiring it. One must exert caution when one’s deciding to take on a gastronomic adventure.
