Street vendors play with people’s health

AJMAN/SHARJAH — With people turning their backs on pricy restaurants and cafeterias, mobile food vendors continue to ply their trade at street corners selling potentially hazardous stuff since the first day of the holy month of Ramadan despite intensified inspection campaigns organised by Ajman and Sharjah municipalities to ensure food safety.

Afkar Ali Ahmed

Published: Sat 8 Oct 2005, 10:27 AM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 8:48 PM

The vendors are selling Ramadan special food, including homos (chick peas), samosas, pies, pancakes, falafil and several types of Asian food items which are exposed to the heat and dust. Unhygienic food handling is a major public health hazard.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Mohammed Al Khalifa, a resident of Ajman, said that unhygienic food handling practices, food storage in high temperatures, and food contamination by the mobile food vendors were visible in several parts of the emirate since the first day of Ramadan. Most of these vendors are handling cooked food items with bare hands that were visibly dirty. No vendor even once washed hands or changed gloves in the 20-minute observation period.

Mohammed Barri from Ajman said that some of the biryani vendors served improperly cooked meat to the customers who were forced to eat it because they don’t have a choice. “I always eat from the street vendors because their food is cheaper compared to the restaurants or cafeterias who double their prices during the holy month of Ramadan,” he added.

Khan Aziz from Sharjah said that street food sellers have also hiked prices of food by 50 per cent compared to last year. “Their food is unhygienic and could be hazardous to my health, but I still depend on them for the Iftar during Ramadan, because I can’t afford to eat at the restaurants. Everyday I see these food sellers who have long dirty nails handling the food for me and other customers without washing their hands or wearing gloves, and they also dip the spoon in all items instead of allocating one spoon for each item,” he said.

Obaid Al Jarah, head of the Health Section of Ajman Municipality, said that mobile food vending is strictly prohibited and practising it is a violation of the health regulations set by the civic body.

The Health Section intensified the food inspection campaigns targeting these food mobile units, restaurants, cafes, and traditional food outlets to ensure strict implementation of the hygienic rules during the holy month of Ramadan.

Al Jarah said that these inspections are carried out to monitor the mobile food vendors as well as small food outlets that function during Ramadan without obtaining licenses from the municipality.

An official from the Health Section of Sharjah Municipality said that inspectors and supervisors of the Health Section drive around the city to ensure that restaurants and cafes are not operating during the day in Ramadan.