Vendors sell ice cream with unhygienic flavors outside of schools and in neighborhoods.
SUMMER DEAL WARNING: A vendor sells flavored ice balls to children at his stall in a Rawalpindi neighborhood. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
With the arrival of summer, brightly colored ice balls and flavored drinks sold on the streets and outside schools have begun to raise health concerns in the city.
Vendors selling ice balls regularly gather in front of public and private schools during breaks and closing hours, offering treats for 10 to 20 rupees. Apart from ice balls, artificially flavored cold drinks in seven or eight different colors are also sold at Rs 10 per glass.
The products are available in red, green, blue, yellow, orange and brown, while ice balls are usually prepared with three or four colors of the customer’s choice. Not only children but also adults buy these delicacies due to their low prices.
From 8 a.m. to midnight, stalls and carts selling colorful drinks and ice balls can be seen in neighborhoods, markets and shopping areas. Vendors also sell low-quality flavored juices in the name of various fruits at cheap prices, which contributes to the spread of diseases.
Children are increasingly spending their pocket money on these ice balls after school hours, while no action is taken against the sellers.
Dr Ayaz Haider, former medical superintendent of Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, said ice balls were very harmful to health and caused throat and stomach diseases.
Although ice appears cold, its effect on the body is harmful, adding that the colors used in ice balls do not meet hygiene standards. In particular, the color red is extremely dangerous for health, he added.
Dr Haider said the syrups used in the ice balls were unbranded and were usually prepared at home. He said throat diseases are spreading rapidly these days because people prefer low-quality ice creams, ice balls and syrups instead of taking precautions during hot weather.
He also said that the smoke emitted by the vehicles also contaminated these foods. During summer, people are naturally attracted to cold drinks, ice balls, kulfi, market syrups, sattu and sugarcane juice, making it a profitable season for street vendors, he added.
He warned that dust deposited on unhygienic kulfi, cold drinks and ice balls could also prove harmful to health. Seasonal changes often lead to throat and stomach illnesses, while even minor negligence can lead to illness, he said.
Dr. Haider advised parents to avoid these types of products and instead provide children with fresh fruit and vegetable juices prepared at home.
