Its business as usual at the small eateries dotting Ongole where street food culture is part and parcel of the social life.
People wait for their turn to savour the hot and tasty Chinese food items prepared with liberal use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the hundreds of small food-joints in the city till late in the night.
The unique selling proposition of these fast food centres displaying prominently the dragon symbol is that they prepare right in-front of the customers, a variety of snacks including fried rice, vegetarian noodles, egg noodles, chicken noodles, chicken Manchurian and veg Manchurian and serve them hot.
“We use Ajinimoto (MSG) in all the dishes to add flavour to the snacks,” admitted a fast-food centre operator near the Ratnam Mahal Centre while preparing the yummy noodles on the frying pan.
Eagerly waiting for the special Manchurian, the gourmet’s delight, a group of students said that “we come here once-in-a while for a break from the routine meals prepared at home. We don’t fear any health problem.”
Non-permitted colours
It is an open secret that these eateries extensively use non-permitted colours also, complains Confederation of AP Consumers Organisation (CAPCO) chairman M. Nageswara Rao.
Designated gazetted Food Safety Officer K. Veerabhadra Rao told The Hindu that five of the three samples drawn from shops showed that “they have been misbranded.”
Special drive
A special drive would be launched shortly to ensure that all eateries adhered to the guidelines issued by the Food Safety and standards Authority of India, he added.
The CAPCO in collaboration with schools in the city would launch an awareness campaign in a big way to enlighten the parents on weaning away children from junk foods and instead consume nutritious snacks, Mr Nageswara Rao said.
Headache, sweating, nausea, vomiting, breathing disorder, drowsiness, joint pains, fluctuation in blood pressure are among the health hazards of consuming MSG over a period, explained Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Director B. Anjaiah.
People wait for their turn to savour the hot and tasty Chinese food items prepared with liberal use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the hundreds of small food-joints till late in the night
