India 09 August 2016: It’s monsoon time again! The monsoon brings with it an end to the scorching summer heat and a sigh of relief to everyone.This is a time for enjoyment and fun & frolic, especially for children who tend to enjoy the rains. It is also a time to be extra careful about infections, in particular, gastrointestinal infections. This is because scientific studies have shown that a number of infectious diseases, including some diarrheal diseases, exhibit a seasonal variation, peaking in the rainy season (Altizer et al., 2006). Moreover, during the monsoon season, the immunity tends to be weakened, making people more susceptible to infections (Paynter et al., 2015).Coupled with this, the digestive enzymes have lower activity, and the digestive system as a whole becomes more sensitive and vulnerable to infections.Therefore, we should be extra careful about what we eat.
Dr. Saurabh Arora, Founder of Food Safety Helpline.com
During the rainy season, the moisture in the air increases to very high levels, and along with it, various microbes tend to multiply. In particular, the fungi tend to grow and multiply profusely in this increased moisture conditions. The most common fungi that spoils food are the molds.
•Special precautions for food items
Bread and other bakery products like cakes, pastries and confectionery are particularly susceptible to spoilage by molds. Therefore, we must take care not to keep these food items exposed to the moist air for long periods. We should consume these items as soon as they are taken out of their air-tight packets. Since cakes and confectionery contain sugar, these are a rich source of nutrients for bacterial growth. This is another reason why these food items shouldn’t be kept out in the open for long. Care should also be exercised with milk & milk products, as these are susceptible to contamination and spoilage by microorganisms, particularly in the humid weather, which is common in the monsoon season. Care should be taken not only for food items, but also for the various ingredients and additives that go into preparation of the dishes. These should be kept in hermetically sealed containers, so that they are not exposed to moisture.
Cut fruits also shouldn’t be kept out in the open during the rainy season. These should ideally be consumed as soon as they are cut, to avoid any contamination with microbes. Likewise, fruit juices should also be consumed fresh and not stored for later consumption.
The storage of cooked food is very important. Prepared food should ideally be consumed hot, soon after cooking. In case of consumption at a later time, it should be quickly cooled, carefully covered and stored refrigerated in order to avoid microbial contamination. It is to be noted that while storing food in the refrigerator, the cooked food should be stored in the upper shelves, while the raw food in the lower shelves.
Storage of grains & pulses and raw vegetables should be away from moisture as much as possible. It would be a good idea to avoid buying in bulk during the monsoon season, in order to avoid problems with storage.
It must also be ensured that the kitchen, and in particular the food preparation area is kept clean and hygienic in order to avoid any chances of microbial contamination during the process of food preparation. Moreover, cooked food must be kept covered and away from raw food items that will likely be contaminated with microorganisms.
•Food can cause gastric problems during monsoon
We should be careful while consuming certain types of food during the monsoon time. These include various types of snacks made of mashed potatoes, which might be kept in the open for long. One of the most common snacks in this category are samosas. Other oily snacks include paneer pakoras, which might cause gastric problems if the ingredients are not fresh. Fermented food items like chole bhature can be spoiled by fungi that flourish in the humid conditions prevailing during the rainy season. As a general rule of thumb, all types of spicy and oily food should be consumed in moderation.
•Avoid street food
Most types of street foods are generally prepared in the open. There is a chance of contamination of the food with rain water. The stalls are sometimes located near open drains, where there is chance of contamination with coliform bacteria, which can cause serious diarrheal disease. Moreover, the water used for preparing street food favorites like golgappas is likely to be contaminated, and there is a chance of contracting water-borne diseases like cholera and typhoid in this way. Also, fruit juices from street vendors might be kept in the open and served later, increasing chances of contamination. Moreover, there are chances that the glasses and other items will not be clean. Consumption of Ice-lollies, Kulfi etc during the monsoon season can also lead to stomach problems arising from unhygienic conditions.
•The common water-borne infections during monsoon
Personal hygiene is very important during the monsoon season, as during this time infections tend to sky-rocket! Water-borne infections can lead to gastroenteritis,diarrhea, and even serious diseases like typhoid and cholera during the monsoon months, particularly due to a weakened immune system(Paynter et al., 2015).
Venturing out into water-logged streets will result in splashing of dirty rain water onto clothes, hands and feet. Moreover, it is very common to see overflowing drains when it is raining heavily. So there is a high chance of contamination with fecal matter also. Therefore, extra care must be taken for hands and feet, which should be thoroughly washed with soap and water as soon as reaching home and before consuming food
•Special precautions for drinking water
It is very important to keep the body well hydrated during the monsoon months. Therefore, it is essential to drink plenty of water. Drinking water must be very safe for consumption, since during the rainy season, chances of contamination increases manifold. It should be noted that besides microbes, ground water can be heavily contaminated with chemicals, as these leach easily into the underground water deposits. The best way to ensure safe drinking water is to filter the water, followed by boiling, before drinking.
If these simple precautions and hygienic practices are followed, this will enable you and your family to enjoy and appreciate the true beauty of the monsoon season.
INPUTS BY DR.SAURABH ARORA ,FOUNDER OF FOODSAFETYHELPLINE.COM
About Dr. Saurabh Arora
A young and dynamic professional with doctorate in pharmaceutics from Jamia Hamdard University and post graduate in the same field from NIPER, Dr. Saurabh Arora has invented a patented nano technology based delivery system for curcumin, the active constituent of Haldi. He has a number of national and international research publications and patents to his credits.
Heading the testing laboratory and research business at Arbro and Auriga for close to 10 years, he has designed and setup 4 state of the art testing laboratories in New Delhi, Baddi and Bangalore. Dr. Saurabh Arora leads a team of over 250 scientists and professionals in 4 laboratories which serve more than 10,000 customers each year from the food, retail, hospitality, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, agri, medical device, research, academics and real-estate industries.
Now he has established Food Safety Helpline (www.foodsafetyhelpline.com), a one stop solution for the people in the food industry to stay up-to-date, understand and implement the requirements of the Food Safety and Standards Act and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The site has a simple objective to help food businesses understand and comply with the requirements of this new and rapidly evolving food law which has been put in place to provide safe and hygienic food to all the citizens of India.
Firm believer that sharing knowledge and experience is the only way to move the society further. He has also established www.lab-training.com in June 2011 to share his team’s expertise in the field of testing with scientists and students around the world, the site today has over 10,000 subscribers and offers online training courses on various techniques used in testing laboratories across industries.
Dr. Saurabh Arora regularly speaks and presents at industry meets, conferences, workshops and webinars on a variety of topics related to the testing and quality of products. He has completed a training on “Lean Labs: Lab Performance Optimisation” and has been implementing the principles of Lean Six Sigma for labs which has helped the business grow at over 30% each year.
His recent research on food contamination include Chewing gum, Chocolates, Ice Cream and many more exclusive researches.
Awards –
He received the Award for “10 best training and development practices in private sector” on behalf of Arbro Pharmaceuticals Ltd. At the Excellence in Training and Development Awards 2013.
Arbro was also adjudged among the top 100 SMEs of India at the BOI India SME 100 Awards in 2012.