In recent times, many people are not cooking food at home due to software, hardware, employment, and irregular timings. Therefore, particularly Generation Z people depend on fast foods and foods available online, rather than junk food. The fast foods that are commercially produced are ready-to-eat food designed for quick service and immediate consumption, typically sold in restaurants, drive-throughs, or convenience stores, and many times, road side business. Common examples include idlis, vada, dosa, noodles, Pani Poori, hamburgers, fries, pizza, fried chicken, tacos, and even cup meals.
Many studies have shown that due to poor hygiene while making the said items numerous people are suffering from food-borne infections and illnesses caused by consuming food or beverages contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites, leading to symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and fever. Common pathogens include Salmonella, E. coli, Norovirus, Listeria, and Campylobacter, often found in raw, undercooked, or mishandled foods. Worm infestation is also a common health problem due to road side eating.
Be cautious with food vendors
According to a study published in International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research in 2024 August less than half of the food vendors washed their hands before food preparation (30%) and after touching each food item (10%), with only 5% practicing hand washing after using the toilet. Moreover, 35% of respondents adhered to hand washing at appropriate times, such as before food preparation and after using the toilet.
Regarding personal hygiene practices, only 5.0% of vendors wore aprons, while 70.0% maintained short nails, and 10.0% covered their heads. Additionally, 90.0% of vendors handled food with their bare hands, and 85.0% maintained the cleanliness of their clothing. Surprisingly, despite 60% of vendors purchasing purified water, a significant portion did not utilize it for cooking purposes.
Overall, the majority of vendors enforced a policy prohibiting workers from handling food while suffering from a foodborne illness. Only 10% of respondents clean their kitchen before cooking, while 25% do so after cooking. Additionally, 20% of vendors clean their kitchen during the cooking process.
The majority of respondents (45%) adhere to cleaning and sanitation maintenance requirements for their kitchens. Regarding premises maintenance, 55% of vendors clean their premises daily, while 25% do so twice a week. Moreover, 56% ensure the cleanliness of sanitary equipment. However, only 15% and 5% of respondents clean their premises once a week and rarely, respectively.
When it comes to staff toilets, 40% of vendors maintain them properly, while only 20% use tissue paper during cooking and serving Studies on fast food in India highlight major hygiene risks, particularly in the street sector, where over 70-80% of vendors expose food to flies and dust, lack gloves, use bare hands, and practice poor waste management. While Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) mandates standards, implementation challenges, lack of training, and unhygienic preparation drive high foodborne illness risks.
Tapeworms and fits
A worm infestation is the term used when the body is lodging parasitic worms, such as pinworms, tapeworms, roundworms, or hookworms which enter and live inside the body, usually the intestines, feeding on nutrients. These are transmitted via contaminated food, water, soil, or poor hygiene, they cause stomach pain, itching, and weight loss, but they can be easily treated with proper medication. Junk food promotes an environment where parasites thrive. Junk food, high in sugar, processed oils, and preservatives, can weaken immunity, delay digestion, and foster intestinal parasites that feed on nutrition and trigger further cravings. Equally, in composting, worms can eat fast food due to its quick breakdown, but excess oils and salt harm bin health.
Yes, certain worm infestations, specifically neurocysticercosis caused by pork tapeworm larvae taenia solium, can directly cause fits medicaiiy called as seizures and epilepsy by forming fluid-filled cysts in the brain. These cysts provoke inflammation and overexcite brain cells, often acting as a leading cause of acquired epilepsy globally.
Fits (seizures) are caused by sudden, abnormal electrical activity in the brain, often triggered by underlying conditions like epilepsy, high fever (especially in young children), brain injuries, infections eg., meningitis, stroke, or severe chemical imbalances. Meningitis is a serious inflammation of the protective membranes (meninges) surrounding the brain and spinal cord, usually caused by bacterial or viral infections. It is a medical emergency. These can also be triggered by extreme stress, sleep deprivation, or withdrawal apart from worm infestation.
A tapeworm infestation, or taeniasis, is a parasitic infection of the intestine caused by flat, ribbon-like worms acquired primarily through consuming raw or undercooked meat and fish. While often asymptomatic, severe cases can lead to serious complications if the larvae migrate to other organs. Tapeworms can grow significantly, often reaching 30 feet (9 meters) or more in length, with some species capable of exceeding 80 feet in the intestines.
Tapeworms primarily live and grow in the human small intestine, where they attach to the intestinal wall using hooks or suckers on their head (scolex) to feed on digested food. While adult worms stay in the gut, larvae from certain species like T. solium can migrate to form cysts in tissues, including the muscles, liver, or brain. These segmented parasites live in the human intestine for years, absorbing nutrients, and typically take 3 to 6 weeks to become fully grown adults. It is not typical intestinal worms, but specifically the larval stage of the pork tapeworm (Taenia solium) that migrates to the brain, forming cysts. There are other parasites which also cause fits will be discussed along with the parasites transmitted to humans, the role of street food in the next issue.
