110 students, teachers attend programs on food safety

Mohali, April 7, 2015: As many as 110 students, teachers & school medical officers from Oakridge international School, Landran, Stepping Stones School, Chandigarh & DAV School, Mohali took part in the World Health Day celebrations at Max Super Speciality Hospital (MSSH), Mohali today.

Among others,  Madhu Sharma, President-Indian Dietetics Association , Chandigarh Chapter, Sandeep Dogra, VP-Operations, MSSH, Shivani Gulati, Chief Clinical Nutritionist and Dr Deepa Puri from Simply Health Plus were presented at the occasion.

During occasion, a skit by Department of Dietetics demonstrating food safety was performed.  The 5 fundamental steps of hand hygiene, which were crucial to food safety, were demonstrated by the Infection Control Department of MSSH through an interesting dance number.

A health seminar on ‘How safe is your food?’ was also organized to educate the students about safe foods.

Dogra said that this year the WHO was promoting improvement of food safety as part of its campaign. Unsafe foods contained harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances. These foods were responsible for more than 200 diseases. It was linked to the deaths of around 2 million people annually, mostly children.”

Gulati informed that importance of keeping your hands clean could not be overstressed. While most organisms did not cause disease the dangerous micro organisms were widely found in soil, water animals and people. These micro organisms were carried on hands, wiping cloths and utensils, especially cutting boards. The slightest contact could transfer them to food and cause food borne diseases.

“One should always wash hands thoroughly before handling food and during food preparation. The hands must be washed before going to the toilet. Wash and sanitize all surfaces and equipment used for food preparation and protect food from insects, pests and other animals.”

Talking about separating raw and cooked food, Gulati said that raw food especially meat, poultry and sea food and their juices could contain dangerous microorganisms which might be transferred onto other foods during food preparation and storage. She advised that one must use separate equipment and utensils such as knives and cutting boards for handling raw foods. The food should be stored in containers to avoid contact between raw and cooked food.”