It's been havoc with for the cyclone hit areas! Every aspect of normal life was disturbed, including the basic necessities like food... Unsafe food, containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, cause more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancer (WHO)!

People staying in the areas where there has been heavy rainfall should particularly be careful with what they eat during these times.

Here's how to eat safe -

- Wash your hands before eating, cooking and after using the wash rooms. Use a good disinfectant/ hand sanitizer. Washing your hands properly can reduce the chances of infections considerably.
- Use clean utensils to cook and eat food.
- Keep your fridge clean. Don't consume any leftover foods which are kept in the fridge for more than a day, or outside for more than 12 hours.
- Store raw and cooked foods separately. For example, cut raw vegetables and cooked vegetables.
- Cover all the foods kept in the refrigerator.
- If the leafy vegetables in the market are not dry and clean, avoid eating those (wet, about to go bad, with germs on it). Leafy vegetables tend to perish in a very short time. Even if you buy it, make sure you use these in a day or two.
- Avoid eating vegetables which have layers. For example, onion, all types of cabbage, lettuce (iceberg), etc. These usually contain germs in the layers. If you need to use any of these vegetables, make sure you discard the first 2 to 3 layers and clean all other layers under running water, and have these cooked. Avoid eating them raw.
- Heat kills most of the bacteria in food, so cooking is one of the best ways to eliminate infections.
- Wash the fruits thoroughly before consuming. If the peel looks discoloured or is dented at more than a couple of places, avoid buying these.
- Raw chicken is known to have a lot of bacteria, which get killed while cooking. This is one of the reasons for which washing raw chicken in your sink should be avoided (as the bacteria can spread in the sink or the kitchen platform).
- Make sure you buy all kinds of raw meats from a clean shop, and preferably get it cleaned in front of you.
- Keep a stock of foods which are dry and won't perish very easily.
- Avoid eating out as far as possible. If you have to eat out, make sure you don't eat at a roadside unhygienic joint. Choose a clean place, and opt for freshly made hot foods.
- Avoid eating raw foods, especially when you are eating out.
- Avoid drinking tap water directly. Use a water purifier, so that it's safe to drink. If you don't have a water purifier, boil the water and use alum to remove the impurities, strain it and then use for drinking.
- Use the same water for cooking, and also rinsing your mouth, as even a small amount of water going down your digestive track can cause infections. Take extra care for babies and children, as their immunity is low.

Rains do come with a lot of health issues such as cough, cold, runny nose, fever and so on.... why add to these by having unsafe/ unhygienic food! With the given circumstances, it's better to be prepared for rains in any season.

Eating hygienic food, drinking clean water and following basic hygiene can keep you safe during the rains!