How Clean Are Your Street Eats?
Posted July 17, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Most people enjoy eating out, and with good reason. The variety, simplicity and quality of the food often trumps the additional cost that comes with eating out. Plus it saves you cooking in a hot kitchen.
But because of that, many people take a lot for granted about the cleanliness of the food they eat. While city by-laws do their best to ensure certain standards are met, unfortunately it’s not always the case. A close look at certain food vendors across the city might reveal some disturbing truths about just how clean the food some are selling is.
Street vendors are only inspected once a year, but only 30 percent of those inspected so far in 2007 managed even a conditional pass.
To date this year, inspectors have looked at 60 hot dog vendors. Of the 60, only 20 earned the conditional pass, 12 charges were laid, and one was shut down completely.
Certain things to look for include whether the vendors have enough water to wash their hands, whether they’re wearing head gear and how cold they’re keeping the food and condiments. Failure to do any of those things should result in intervention by Toronto Public Health, though it doesn’t always work out that way, which is why the consumer needs to be extra vigilant about selecting their vendor.
Here are some links to help you research how safe your favourite places are to eat, and how to report a spot that maybe isn’t keeping it so clean.
Toronto Public Health
Food Premises Inspection and Disclosure System
Report A Restaurant/Vendor
Find & Research A Restaurant/Vendor
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