Vendors sell unsanitary ice cream treats outside schools and in neighborhoods
SUMMER TREAT PROVISION: A vendor sells flavored ice cream scoops to children at his stall in a Rawalpindi neighborhood. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
With the onset of summer, brightly colored ice cream scoops and flavored drinks sold on the streets and outside schools have started to raise health concerns in the city.
Vendors selling ice cream scoops regularly congregate outside government and private schools during breaks and closing hours, offering the treats for Rs10 to Rs20. Alongside the ice balls, artificially flavored cold drinks in seven to eight different colors are also sold for Rs 10 per glass.
The products are available in the colors red, green, blue, yellow, orange and brown, while ice cream balls are usually prepared with three or four colors according to the customer’s choice. Not only children but adults also buy these treats because of their low prices.
From From 8am to midnight, stalls and carts selling colorful drinks and ice cream scoops can be seen across neighbourhoods, markets and commercial areas. Vendors also sell low-quality flavored juices in the name of various fruits at cheap prices, contributing to the spread of diseases.
Children are increasingly spending their pocket money on these ice cream cones after school, while nothing is done about the sellers.
Former Medical Superintendent of Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, Dr. Ayaz Haider, said that the ice balls were very harmful to health and caused throat and stomach ailments.
He said that though ice cream seemed cold, its effect on the body was harmful, adding that the colors used on ice cream scoops did not meet hygiene standards. The red color in particular was extremely dangerous to health, he added.
Dr. Haider said the syrups used on the ice cream scoops were unbranded and usually prepared at home. He said throat diseases spread rapidly these days because people preferred low-quality ice cream, ice balls and market syrups instead of taking precautions in hot weather.
He further said that smoke emitted by vehicles was also contaminating these foods. In summer, people are naturally attracted to cold drinks, ice balls, kulfi, market syrups, sattu and sugarcane juice, making it a lucrative season for roadside vendors, he added.
He warned that dust that settles on unhygienic kulfi, cold drinks and ice balls can also prove harmful to health. Seasonal changes often trigger throat and stomach ailments, while even minor negligence can lead to illness, he said.
Dr. Haider advised parents to avoid such products and instead provide children with fresh fruit and vegetable juices prepared at home.
