Is Your Banana Cue Safe?

CEBU, Philippines - It may not be the stick of your banana cue or barbecue that’s deadly. It takes about 30 minutes to six weeks to get sick from unsafe food and yet each day we expose our children and ourselves to an unseen enemy: germs, germs, germs in the food we eat.

 Spaghetti sauce and meat based dishes were identified as the most common sources of food-borne disease outbreak in the Philippines. Until we get sick, we don’t care much about the food-borne bacteria and virus that could be prancing on the banana cue, barbecue, spaghetti or fish ball that we are fond of buying along the sidewalk, canteens, and the food outlets in our neighbourhood. There is not a health authority who inspects and regulates stalls lining along school and university perimeters especially in public schools where banana cue, barbecue cue and fish balls are sold. Though in plain view, people can see that the vessels used for cooking are dirty and contaminated, yet these things don’t scare people from eating the food and risk getting sick.

We are so encumbered with washing our hands, washing our faces, washing our hair, washing our clothes or washing our bodies. Advertisements prey on sensitivities of outward appearance to hide inner filthiness. Are there advertisements that make us stop and think if proper washing is done to the meat and vegetable on the food we take in. Do we stop to think if the one handling the food we are eating have proper hygiene?

Contaminated Kitchen.

In the Philippines, food borne diseases like diarrhea is one of the top ten causes of morbidity. Statistics show that 79 percent of food borne diseases result from food contamination and poisoning outside the home such as in workplaces, during weddings, parties and outside the home. Just because you eat in a restaurant, fast food chain or had caterers prepare your dishes, does not mean you are spared from food borne disease. Food safety issue does not take place in the kitchen, alone.

Food safety involves the safe handling of food from the time it is grown, packaged, distributed, and prepared to prevent foodborne illnesses. Foodborne illness or food poisoning, may be caused by bacteria that grow on food or by viruses that are spread because food is not cleaned, stored, or handled properly. While both bacteria and virus are unseen enemies, the only difference is that bacteria thrive in non-living substances, while viruses require a living host in order to exist. Viral and bacterial food poisoning have many different methods of contamination.

In any case, the pathogen in food or food product multiply owing to improper handling or cooking so that when taken in, this infects the human body after ingestion. Improper handling can range from raw vegetables and meat not properly washed and cooled, cooking utensils, knives and cutting boards not properly washed, separated or sterilized and fresh meat and fish not properly cooked and cooled. Other causes of food borne illness are eating expired or sewage-contaminated food.

Symptoms of food borne illness include nausea, fever, abdominal cramps, difficulty speaking and swallowing or even deaths.

It is when we don’t feel well or we keep on going to the toilet that we know an unseen enemy has overtaken us and all because we ate it. Campylobacter, which is the most common bacterial cause of diarrhea, can be caused by undercooked chicken or other foods contaminated with juices that drip from raw chicken. Salmonella is a bacterium that can spread from food of animal origin. E. coli is a bacteria that resides in cattle and similar animals and contaminates humans when eating meat from these animals. That is why eating cooked food sold along the sidewalk or food vendors is a pretty risky thing. Even if there is food safety regulation in the Philippines called RA 7394, still enforcement is wanting.

The best way to have safe food is to cook these at home where you are in control of the environment for cooking and food preparation. Have your children bring food prepared at home. Eating safe food is always a choice. If you are not sure if the food you are going to put inside your body is safe for consumption, you still have the option.