Hygiene for Kitchens: Healthier snack substitutes on fast track

The issue of food hygiene is often brushed under the carpet. Take it from the top brass of the KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research (SIMSR).

Speaking at the second workshop of DNA’s ‘Hygiene for Kitchens’ campaign at the college on Friday, this observation of the director-general of SIMSR, Suresh Ghai, was greeted with vigorous nods.
Giving the thumbs-up to the initiative, Ghai said, “This is one of the best initiatives a newspaper can take out. More than anything else, this is about the health of students.”

He said his college has two messes and a canteen, and more are in the pipeline. “I feel that more can be done on food hygiene. Without naming them, I can say that even some five-star hotels can make their food safer. I have been a vocal speaker on the issue of how canteen food can be made better, tastier, hygienic and nutritious,” he added.

To ram home his point, he often eats at the college’s canteens. His inferences: while the food is tasty, it is not always healthy. “I avoid oily food and since I have most of my meals at home, I can skip canteen food. But, many students who eat three meals a day at the canteens do not have that choice,” he explained.     

Gunning for healthier alternatives to fast food, he recalled that while working at a Delhi college, he had seen a kiosk selling sprouts and fruits. “I have asked students to take it up as a project and put up a kiosk on the campus to serve hygienic and nutritious food.

Appreciating DNA for taking an off-beaten path, he said, “They’re proving they mean business and want the good for society. Hygiene issues can happen in the best of colleges and schools.”