Zee Media Bureau/Salome Phelamei
New Delhi: Shocking, but yes, you heard it right! That spicy chaat, crispy tikki or steaming momos found in Delhi's streets may have poop in it, which is, obviously not good for you.
A recent study by a group of doctors of the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition in Delhi, has revealed that the street food in the national capital has high level of faecal matter.
The study showed that food items like samosa, golgappa, burger and momos, collected from west and central Delhi localities contain extremely high amount of E. Coli bacteria which can cause severe infections including typhoid and cholera.
The food samples were collected twice from the street shops and franchisee outlets at a one-month interval.
The main reason behind for such high contamination is due to usage of unclean water in cooking as well as unhygienic conditions of the area.
As per the central Pollution Control Board, the normal Most Probable Number (MPN) of coliform bacteria in such foods is 50 or less, but it was reportedly found that MPN in these food samples was found over 2,400.
The bacterial pathogens found in street eateries are bacillus cereus, clostridium perfringens, staphylococcus aureus and salmonella species. These bacteria can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, typhoid, food poisoning and other digestive problems.
