On 1 May, I commenced letter writing. It takes six tedious days before one finally gets published—and it’s not even a letter by me.
Instead, it was one meticulously penned by Pan Jie, our staff writer.
7 May: “Keep Birds Away From Food”
I have noticed that hawker centres and other open-air eateries are frequented by birds of all kinds.
The other day, my colleagues and I were having lunch at an Indian-Muslim eatery when a pigeon flew into the kitchen. The little fella landed on the cutting board and began pecking away at the half-cut cucumbers lying about. After availing himself of vegetables, he then went on to make a buffet of the other rojak ingredients.
We tried to inform the establishment, but the culprit flew away before we could get the staff’s attention.
Don’t get me wrong, I like birds. I have nothing against them. However, I think that they should be kept away from food for the sake of hygiene.
Although bird flu hasn’t been in the news for quite a while, it remains a clear and present danger that deserves caution. Furthermore, stray birds have parasites and their dirty feet may carry all sorts of disease-causing microbes.
I do not want to hurt the establishment by revealing their name, but more needs to be done in order to protect our food from flying pests. This is not the first time I’ve seen birds invading kitchens. Perhaps NEA can work with Jurong Bird Park to deploy more strident anti-bird measures in our kopitiams.
Nets and shiny objects come to mind.
Yang Wen Yi (Ms)
Published: Yes.
Possible reasons for success: Topic discusses hygiene, one of Singapore’s obsessions, in a novel way. Humour in the last line is so subtle that it may be taken as a serious suggestion, depending on who reads it.
More at https://www.domainofexperts.com/2018/05/heres-how-we-got-straits-times-forum-to.html
Instead, it was one meticulously penned by Pan Jie, our staff writer.
7 May: “Keep Birds Away From Food”
I have noticed that hawker centres and other open-air eateries are frequented by birds of all kinds.
The other day, my colleagues and I were having lunch at an Indian-Muslim eatery when a pigeon flew into the kitchen. The little fella landed on the cutting board and began pecking away at the half-cut cucumbers lying about. After availing himself of vegetables, he then went on to make a buffet of the other rojak ingredients.
We tried to inform the establishment, but the culprit flew away before we could get the staff’s attention.
Don’t get me wrong, I like birds. I have nothing against them. However, I think that they should be kept away from food for the sake of hygiene.
Although bird flu hasn’t been in the news for quite a while, it remains a clear and present danger that deserves caution. Furthermore, stray birds have parasites and their dirty feet may carry all sorts of disease-causing microbes.
I do not want to hurt the establishment by revealing their name, but more needs to be done in order to protect our food from flying pests. This is not the first time I’ve seen birds invading kitchens. Perhaps NEA can work with Jurong Bird Park to deploy more strident anti-bird measures in our kopitiams.
Nets and shiny objects come to mind.
Yang Wen Yi (Ms)
Published: Yes.
Possible reasons for success: Topic discusses hygiene, one of Singapore’s obsessions, in a novel way. Humour in the last line is so subtle that it may be taken as a serious suggestion, depending on who reads it.
More at https://www.domainofexperts.com/2018/05/heres-how-we-got-straits-times-forum-to.html
