When food is too fast

WE NEED to learn lessons from the Ministry of Health’s belated move to issue safety guidelines for food businesses after the easing of the lockdown began on Monday. When food is too fast, we only have time for the taste.

It is a shame that in a nation in which one of the national watchwords is discipline we could not have depended on every food seller to enforce strict adherence to the standards now required in the era of covid19. What does it say when a State has to legislate each and everything? Many, including evidently the ministry, wanted to believe all food sellers would rise to the occasion and, of their own volition, do what is right, what is safe. The findings of Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh proved otherwise.

“I saw the good, the bad and the ugly,” Deyalsingh said when he went to see for himself. “One establishment had everything that you could ask for, and then you walk down a few yards and you saw nothing.” Cynics, though, were not surprised.

Not only was the quality of safety measures spotty on the part of proprietors, customers, too, were being lax. In such circumstances, the State has little choice but to double down. Food sellers cover the length and breadth of the country. To leave them unregulated would pose too great a risk.

Clearly, Trinidadians and Tobagonians love their food. While home-cooked meals have long been a feature of our cultural life, there has been an increased tendency to dine out. This reflects the pace of modern life as well as economic factors that attend to where we are in terms of our overall development.

Whatever the causes, there are now more fast food outlets selling things like fried chicken, pizza and burgers than there are health centres and health facilities combined. And that’s not counting doubles, roti, gyros, boiled corn, soup, and restaurants selling Chinese-styled food as well as many other cuisines.

It may well be that the new normal will bring about a return to good, old-fashioned, home-cooked meals. Certainly, the last few weeks have provided ample opportunity for people to rediscover their kitchens. And judging from the lower than expected turnout at some venues on Monday, it is evident people are being cautious with their spending. That is no reason, however, to demur on regulation.

Those regulations can be a template for use in other sectors in which groups gather, such as the retail sector and various offices and departments serving the general public.

While it would be nice to leave it to businesses and organisations to voluntarily draw up their own rules and procedures, we know enough from the food vendors to expect gaps. The State should, therefore, promulgate guidelines, if not bolstered laws, to assist in this process of transition.