POINT OF VIEW
Perhaps the C grade for hawkers should be probationary
Derrick A Paulo
deputy news editor
derrick@mediacorp.com.sg
The recent mass food poisoning in Geylang will prompt some hawkers to be more hygienic and some Singaporeans to be a little choosier about where they eat.
But let’s not kid ourselves — for how long?
Our current standards of hygiene are “5/10 or worse”, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said last week. A far cry from the dark days of Sars, which saw a nation obsessed with hygiene.
So, if the goal is to use this latest unfortunate incident to improve hygiene for the long-term, food vendors need to be given more than just an earful.
It is clear that many Singaporeans don’t mind at all eating at a food stall with a C rating for hygiene — this was borne out by a Today poll and a separate one later by The Straits Times.
In fact, some Singaporeans go as far as to say that hygiene ratings here are inversely related to culinary standards and taste.
So what’s the incentive for stall holders to keep cleanliness standards high? Why not have a tiered rental system, where hawkers with A-grade hygiene pay a lower rental?
Financial carrots and sticks are a tried-and-tested tactic here, one which has in the past elicited a speedy change in behaviour and in some cases a lasting change.
Is it really asking too much of C-grade hawkers, who made up 14.3 per cent of all stallholders last year, to use gloves and tongs or cover cooked food?
The National Environment Agency uses a demerit-point system to deal with such omissions, which environment officers catch when they make their rounds once every six to eight weeks. But otherwise, hawkers can hang on to their C grade for life. Perhaps, the system needs to be less tolerant of lower hygiene standards and make the C grade a probationary grade.
Hawkers who do not improve to a “B” within, say, three months, should be suspended until the next round of checks.
And those with D grades — seven stalls out there scored 40 to 49 out of 100 — should be immediately suspended.
Mr Khaw has already said that he plans to bar any food stall operator with a C rating from operating within hospitals. It is a signal of what standards we ought to accept, and the rating system should take its cue.
Of course, hawkers need the help of their customers and food centre operators to keep their surroundings clean.
The World Health Organisation marked World Health Day last week with the message that food safety is a shared responsibility. Now is the time to make some changes to that end.
From TODAY, News – Monday, 13-April-2009
Perhaps the C grade for hawkers should be probationary
Derrick A Paulo
deputy news editor
derrick@mediacorp.com.sg
The recent mass food poisoning in Geylang will prompt some hawkers to be more hygienic and some Singaporeans to be a little choosier about where they eat.
But let’s not kid ourselves — for how long?
Our current standards of hygiene are “5/10 or worse”, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said last week. A far cry from the dark days of Sars, which saw a nation obsessed with hygiene.
So, if the goal is to use this latest unfortunate incident to improve hygiene for the long-term, food vendors need to be given more than just an earful.
It is clear that many Singaporeans don’t mind at all eating at a food stall with a C rating for hygiene — this was borne out by a Today poll and a separate one later by The Straits Times.
In fact, some Singaporeans go as far as to say that hygiene ratings here are inversely related to culinary standards and taste.
So what’s the incentive for stall holders to keep cleanliness standards high? Why not have a tiered rental system, where hawkers with A-grade hygiene pay a lower rental?
Financial carrots and sticks are a tried-and-tested tactic here, one which has in the past elicited a speedy change in behaviour and in some cases a lasting change.
Is it really asking too much of C-grade hawkers, who made up 14.3 per cent of all stallholders last year, to use gloves and tongs or cover cooked food?
The National Environment Agency uses a demerit-point system to deal with such omissions, which environment officers catch when they make their rounds once every six to eight weeks. But otherwise, hawkers can hang on to their C grade for life. Perhaps, the system needs to be less tolerant of lower hygiene standards and make the C grade a probationary grade.
Hawkers who do not improve to a “B” within, say, three months, should be suspended until the next round of checks.
And those with D grades — seven stalls out there scored 40 to 49 out of 100 — should be immediately suspended.
Mr Khaw has already said that he plans to bar any food stall operator with a C rating from operating within hospitals. It is a signal of what standards we ought to accept, and the rating system should take its cue.
Of course, hawkers need the help of their customers and food centre operators to keep their surroundings clean.
The World Health Organisation marked World Health Day last week with the message that food safety is a shared responsibility. Now is the time to make some changes to that end.
From TODAY, News – Monday, 13-April-2009
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