Proper food storage is important for our health. Eating food that has
been improperly stored has the potential to make a person sick when he
consumes it.
Many people have been storing food improperly especially food vendors in urban areas.
A survey conducted by this paper in some parts of Dar es Salaam
city observed that the majority of food businesses especially those
selling chips do not follow the right ways of storing food for their
customers who prefer take away package.
Vendors use plastic bags as a means of carrying preserved food.
Hundreds of kiosks in the city use plastic bags without knowing
the impact of storing food in them especially putting hot food directly
in plastic bags.
Although the survey was conducted in Dar es Salaam Region only, the situation is the same in other regions of the country.
Plastics are made from chemicals that have the potential to harm a
person's health. When food is stored in plastic bags these chemicals can
leach into the food and then be ingested.
The majority people with kiosks dealing with chips frying
interviewed by The Guardian seem to be unaware on the impact of storing
hot food in plastic bags.
Ally Khalid, a chips kiosk dealer at Tandale area said he used plastic bags to store chips for his customers.
“Since I opened this business the only equipment I used for keeping
food for people who come here to buy and live (take away) is this black
plastic bag you see here,” he said while showing this reporter the
small black plastic bags.
“I don’t know the impact or any health effect that may be caused by
these plastic bags as none of my customers come to me complaining about
them,” he said.
Another chips dealer at Kimara who preferred anonymity said he was
using plastic bags because he cannot afford buying other types of
wrappers.
“I don’t know if plastic bags have any negative health impact, I am
just using them because my capital is small hence. I cannot afford
buying foil paper every day. Once my business grows I will use foil
paper to preserve food,” he explained.
He said it’s hard for small kiosks to use the best ways of storing
food by putting it in the foil paper. That is affordable to big kiosk
and restaurant owners.
“I never heard that these plastic bags can cause a health
problem…., I just found other people using it to preserve food
especially chips and I am also using it, he added.
Mariam Athuman was among other chips customer standing out of the kiosk in Ilala area waiting for her food.
She was comfortable with the way her hot food was putting in a plastic bag.
She said that it is a normal thing for them buying food preserving in a plastic bags.
“I am not aware if by putting hot food in a plastic bags or using
it for carring food and can lead to any health problem. What I know is
that bags are not good for the environment,” said Mariam.
They are using plastic bags as a means of warming rice without
knowing that oil and heat make chemical migrate from plastic bag to
food.
Some citizens blamed authorities for not raising public awareness
about the harmful effects of using plastic bags and called on officials
to make stores and restaurants use proper materials to store food.
Experts say that consumers and merchants use plastic bags a lot
because they are inexpensive, but what they do not know is that these
bags contain poisonous substances.
Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) consultant Radiation Oncologist
Dr Dominista Kombe said about 66 per cent of cancer cases depend on
lifestyle factor including diet.
She said diet can make a big difference in helping to fight off cancer.
Dr Kombe said majority of people have been risking themselves and
developing cancer without knowing that by using plastic bags to carry
and preserve hot food they generate poison called dioxin.
She said the number of people suffering from cancer has been
increasing in the country citing that the rise in such cases is
attributed largely to people eating food carried in plastic bags.
Dr Kombe said the problems of using plastic bags are yet unknown to
most of the people due to lack of knowledge and lack of publications on
health risk by researchers and scientists.
Everyday, patients affected by polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene and
polystyrene because of eating hot foods carried in plastic bags visit
the institute.
“Scientists should conduct a research on the matter and advise
people accordingly. Tanzanians should know the risk that plastic bags
pose to their health,” she said adding that apart from health, the bags
also have impact on the environment because they do not decompose
easily.
“Some foods actually increase your risk of cancer, while others
support your body and strengthen your immune system. By making smart
food choice, you can protect your health, feel better and boost your
ability to fight off cancer and other diseases”.
She explained that “not all health problems are avoided but you have more control over your health than you may think”.
Research shows that a large percentage of cancer related deaths are
directly linked to lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking lack of
exercise and unhealthy diet.
She further explained that most of the cancers can be prevented by
not smoking, avoid keeping food in plastic bags, controlling body
weight, eating plenty of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Moreover, she advised Tanzanians to cultivate a culture of doing regular health checkups so as to know their health status.
For her part, Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) public
relation officer Gaudensia Simwanza said majority of Tanzanians are not
aware of the effects of putting hot food in plastic bags.
“People misuse those bags, they are not meant for food storage,”
she said adding that if a person wants to use the plastic bags to store
food they should first pack it in a foil paper before putting the food
in plastic bags.
Statistics shows that between 80 and 100 people succumb to cancer
daily. There are over 200 different known cancer that affect humans.
The life threatening cancerous disease costs the lives of at least
40,000 Tanzanians annually.
When hot food is packed in plastics, chemical exchange between
plastic and food is maximised by high temperature hence made chemical
migrate into food.
The Government has to take steps to control the problem and conduct
awareness programmes against the use of plastic bags for food items.SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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