What he means is that the authorities cannot make all gato pima or dal puri sellers in Mauritius close down their business. This may provoke social unrest and lead to a high unemployment rate. But many like Ramesh Basenoo, the president of Grand-Port district council, claim: “We, Mauritians, have very bad eating habits.”

Diabetes, considered as one of the worst diseases of the 21st century, has not spared Mauritius. Nearly one out of five adults above 30 suffers from diabetes. Many of them do not know they have the disease, though. Many other complications are associated with this epidemic such as cardiovascular problems, kidney failure, blindness.

People are still not bothered to change their eating and cooking habits. They still like eating all those sweets and delicious savouries, which, though very tasty, affect our health and teeth very badly if there is no control.

The government has made it a priority to awake people’s awareness to diabetes and the risks associated to poor hygiene habits. The Food Act of 1998 authorises health inspectors to take samples of food from shops, sellers, restaurants and any premises for analysis or examination. It also includes the packaging of the food.

A recent case of food poisoning, in the south, shows that people trust these sellers but are they trustworthy concerning hygienic practices? It is up to the public to help enforce the law. If they stop buying and consuming food from someone who is not keen to respect hygienic norms, then this will incite sellers to be more careful.

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