Canteen contractors said they were compelled to keep prices of food items low, even if it meant turning a blind eye to some food sourcing and handling practices.
Is the pressure to keep food prices low the main reason for poor hygiene standards at some of our college canteens?
At the second workshop on Friday as part of DNA’s ‘Hygiene for Kitchens’, canteen contractors said they were compelled to keep prices of food items low, even if it meant turning a blind eye to some food sourcing and handling practices that could be detrimental to the safety of meals served.
The emphasis by college managements on keeping food costs low and the competition between contractors to serve the cheapest meals, the contractors said, were a few reasons why they can't upgrade kitchen infrastructure or employ food safety audits that require substantial financial investments.
Contractors, students and teachers filled the auditorium at the KJ Somaiya institute at Vidyavihar. Saying elaborate audits could push up their costs, contractors also said that they had no control over the food supply chain that could be the source of contamination.
One contractor narrated an instance where dead honeybees were found in the food served at a canteen he serviced. They were traced to a batch of jaggery that they had bought from a wholesale dealer.
"The competition to keep prices low forces us to go to markets where food materials are sold at wholesale rates or sold in an unpacked form," said the contractor.
Food safety experts at the workshop said that it was time to change the mindset that food costs should be kept low anyhow.
Ashwin Bhadri, chief executive officer of Equinox Labs, said that consumers are ready to pay a premium on food if they are assured about the hygiene. The solution to problems like dead insects in food materials was to go to a more reliable supplier.
However, not everyone in the audience felt that food hygiene is an expensive proposition. Poonam Singh, head of the economics department at PN Doshi Women's College, Ghatkopar, said she did not agree that good hygiene required heavy investment in infrastructure and audits.
"I have seen even small-time vendors adopting simple and inexpensive ways to keep food clean. Many sandwich sellers use stainless steel utensils, and adopt simple hygiene techniques to serve safe food. Some have been serving food for years without any incident of food poisoning," she said.
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