BY: JOSE ROBERT INVENTOR
Could you stomach it?
If the chopping board used to prepare the meat you bought is blackened and has a foul smell?
This is the state of 25 chopping boards confiscated by the Public Order and Safety Division (POSD), in coordination with the Sanitary Division of the City Health Services Office, from stalls in the Baguio City Public Market just days before Christmas.
“It’s a sanitary issue. You’ve seen our post, these boards are overused, full of bacteria. They’ve been used for a long time already. They even have an odor, that’s not how they should look,” said Daryl Kim Longid, Chief of the POSD.
Aside from the diseases you can contract from using dirty chopping boards…
This is also a direct violation of Section 23 of Presidential Decree No. 856, the Sanitary Code of the Philippines.
“There are many types of diseases you can get because their chopping boards are full of bacteria. Most of them are wooden, so they really need to be replaced,” said Robert Colewan, Sanitation Inspector 5.
The Department of Health-Cordillera previously reported a rise in cases of food and waterborne illnesses in the region.
These include cholera, with 14 cases compared to the previous 12.
And typhoid fever, with 3,119 cases, higher than the previous 3,038 cases.
Vendor Marissa admits that some vendors indeed use dirty chopping boards.
“It’s right here. I just can’t pinpoint who they caught. We scrub them before we leave, then we brush them at night,” said Marissa Villa, a market vendor at the Meat Section.
That’s why Rogielyn, aside from ensuring the quality of meat, only buys from clean stalls.
“Of course, it’s risky. You might get food contamination. I won’t buy from stalls like that,” said Rogielyn Fontanilla, a customer.
“They’re quite dirty, so it’s better if they voluntarily replace them. They shouldn’t need to be told again. They know this because they attend food handling seminars at T. Alonzo when renewing their health certificates and working permits,” Colewan mentioned.
The Sanitary Division of the City Health Services Office continues inspections of establishments to ensure public safety.
