India’s Shocking Street Food Secrets Exposed – Delicious but Risky?

① Indian Street Food

India’s rich and diverse culinary landscape enthralls tourists from around the globe. In India, many households don’t have their own kitchens, leading to a widespread dining-out culture. As varied as the vast subcontinent, Indian cuisine boasts an extraordinary diversity. Thanks to a harmonious blend of numerous spices that bestow each dish’s distinctive and tempting flavor.

Curry, the most iconic dish of India, comes in hundreds if not thousands of variations. However, while appealing, street food can be a challenge. The level of street hygiene seen during a trip to India is often alarmingly poor. During a trip to India, you will encounter a variety of street foods. Hygiene, unfortunately, is an issue that often accompanies these encounters.

As you stroll through the streets, you’ll observe that preparing food with bare hands is not deemed problematic. The food preparation conditions can make you squint. Given the different hygiene standards, only seasoned travelers with a certain tolerance level can dare to try these foods.

Many people suffer from severe stomach problems after eating improperly prepared food in India. Tourists who’ve journeyed to India advise dining at restaurants that ensure hygiene. One must also be cautious of diseases such as typhoid and malaria in India. When the environment lacks hygiene, extra caution becomes essential.

② Serious Cooking Conditions

Social media is buzzing with videos showcasing the hygiene conditions of street food in India. There is a lot of interest in the state of hygiene not only domestically but also abroad.

In most videos, one can observe food handling without hesitation, using bare hands, which is not regarded as an issue when serving customers. In India, the left hand is seen as impure and unholy, and it is considered impolite to touch someone or point using the left hand.

Some Indians use their left hand to clean themselves after using the toilet. However, street food vendors often use both hands.

The food preparation surfaces are filled with dirt, and even the cooking utensils holding the food are filled with unidentified substances. Despite the visibly dirty environment, long queues wait to eat street food.

③ Lack of Hygiene Awareness

The level of hygiene awareness in India is very low. While the major cities are relatively clean, the further you go into the countryside, the poorer the hygiene standards become. Stray cows and dogs roam the streets, filled with all sorts of waste. In rural areas, people even defecate in the open due to the belief that human feces are ominous.

According to UNICEF, in 2014, approximately 620 million people, equivalent to half of India’s population, could not access proper toilet facilities. This led to the daily disposal of roughly 65 million kilograms (143 million pounds) of waste in the open. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared to build toilets immediately after taking office. By October 2019, he promised to have at least one toilet in every home to improve cleanliness and hygiene facilities nationwide.

In 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared open defecation free. He stated that in the last 60 months, they had constructed 110 million toilets, catering to the needs of 600 million people.

According to a government survey in India, the toilet coverage rate, which was 38.7% in February 2014, is now at 100%. However, CNN highlighted that the reported toilet coverage rate had been exaggerated, and open defecation persists due to water shortages and inadequate management. India is still struggling with the basic issue of toilets.

In addition, because India has serious water pollution problems, care must be taken when eating food.
You should never drink stagnant water and avoid swimming in water bodies as polluted water can cause skin diseases.

India’s hot weather can exacerbate hygiene problems. Most travelers experience diarrhea in India.

By. Mia Han