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Recently, in Ho Chi Minh City, although the authorities have continuously organized campaigns to handle cases of street vendors in front of schools and hospitals, this situation still exists.
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| Street vendors surround the gate of Cho Ray Hospital. Photo: BUI TUAN |
Street vendors surround
After school hours, walking through schools in Ho Chi Minh City, it is not difficult to see street vendors selling and preparing food right on the sidewalks and dusty streets. In front of Hoang Hoa Tham Secondary School (Tan Binh District), a series of mobile street vendors line up on the sidewalk to serve the young "privileged guests".
There are all kinds of dishes here, from mixed rice paper, fried fish balls, beef jerky, to soft drinks, candies with many eye-catching shapes and colors. Many foods and additives do not have labels, expiration dates, manufacturers, ingredients, etc., which pose a high risk of affecting the health of users. Because they are sold at relatively cheap prices, these street foods attract many students to buy.
In front of many hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City such as Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital, Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital... there are street vendors and stalls selling all kinds of cooked food, fruits... eye-catching, cheap and of quality that no one dares to guarantee! Every day, there are many patients and their relatives eating at street vendors in front of the hospital gates.
Reporters' records show that a series of shops and street vendors have sprung up in the area around the gate of Cho Ray Hospital. Vendors prepare food right on the street and are not carefully covered.
Most of the street vendors in the area around the hospital gates prepare food right on the sidewalks and dusty streets, not meeting food hygiene and safety requirements, posing many potential dangers to consumers.
Adverse health effects
According to health experts, food sold and processed on the sidewalks is mostly unsafe and potentially harmful to consumers. This includes food of unknown origin, unreliable production facilities, no production or business license, or expired products, poorly preserved products, or food that has not been veterinary inspected (for eggs, meat, etc.).
In addition, food ingredients are not balanced in nutrients, using many unhealthy substances such as preservatives, additives, and colorants in incorrect dosages.
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Street vendors in front of Huynh Tan Phat Secondary School, District 7, HCMC. Photo: KIM HUYEN |
Dr. Duong Thi Kim Loan, Head of the Department of Clinical Nutrition, Thong Nhat Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that floating food is at risk of containing many additives and colorants to stimulate the taste buds of consumers, especially targeting students.
Because they contain unhealthy ingredients, when consumed, these foods can easily cause the body to lack energy and nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, etc.), and cause excess energy and nutrients (fat, sugar, salt, etc.).
In addition, using unsafe food also causes the risk of acute and chronic poisoning and seriously affects the body's nutritional status.
“In cases where patients have reduced resistance, especially poor immunity in the digestive tract, when eating unsafe or poor quality food, the risk of food poisoning is higher than in healthy people. There is a condition of poor absorption of nutrients due to poor quality food, nutritional deficiencies, malnutrition,” Dr. Kim Loan informed.
According to Lawyer Nguyen Sy Thang, Director of Risk Free Law Firm in Ho Chi Minh City, street vendors encroaching on sidewalks and roads are violations of the 2008 Road Traffic Law and will be subject to administrative penalties if found to have violated the law. In addition, violations of food safety laws in business are conditions that give rise to legal liability, depending on the level and nature, the authorities will handle them according to administrative, civil or criminal liability.
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