Apr 08 2009
Lucked out
While the duality of the above phrase is funnily enough, coincidental, death from having eaten Indian rojak is (excuse the pun) no laughing matter.
My prayers are with the family of Mdm Aminah Samijo – the first fatality in the recent Rojak Geylang Serai (stall 320) food poisoning outbreak, which has affected a reported 137 victims (up from 111 on Monday). They are also with Mdm Rosiah Samat who had lost her two-month-old unborn baby.
This was a popular stall, which makes it even more surprising. Many of us – and surely those who have on many occasions had Indian rojak – will most likely be able to recall at least one bad experience from having eaten soured servings of yesterday’s platter. I know I have. And now, when I, on occasion (though rarely), decide to ignore my phobia and have Indian rojak, I would ONLY do so from a popular stall.
A simple (though naïve) deduction convinces me that it is safe. If sales are consistently good, the chances of ingesting a refried two-day-old tofu should, presumably, be significantly low.
Alas, this is not always the case. More importantly, this is unacceptable.
Powerful predilections aside, hygiene should always be our top priority, up there with great tasting food and the “no scratching of ass and scrotum when cooking” rule.
The “no serving of rancid food” rule is, in fact, a given. And any business that breaks it – for whatever reason – should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Hell, it will certainly be less harsh than serving the guilty a plate of the same fusty crap they chose to sell to the innocent.
This is not like a platter of oysters that was accidentally left to rest too close to the oven or at room temperature for a tad too long, or a corked bottle of wine, for that matter.
For the sake of all of us who love Indian rojak, the authorities and governing bodies should seriously look into ways to help discourage such indiscretions. Step up checks on both the popular and less popular stalls.
Also, worth noting – again – is the overall hygiene of stalls and their surrounding area. The convenience the design of a hawker centre affords also contributes to the high difficulty in maintaining high hygiene standards.
I am, however, rather troubled by the fact that some regular patrons of the stall whom TODAY spoke to are not too “bothered” by this incident. One had even relegated it to plain “bad luck”.
In the UK, “lucked out” simply means running out of it. For many here, who have despite their fears, chosen to eat Indian rojak, it could amount to a good few nights of some of the worst pains we’ll ever know and live to tell about. For the less fortunate, it could be, sadly, their last meal.
In the US, the same phrase means having been able to avoid a dangerous or unwanted situation. I certainly hope that we would not have to take that chance.
Where food is concerned, there are two things I cannot put up with: Hunger and greed.
