Lately, I heard of an incident that took place in a town of Pakistan. Two young brothers (approximately 8 to 10 years-old) were found dead in the morning. They were in their best health when they slept at night. There were no signs of any death causing illness. When both of them couldn’t wake up in the morning and proved to be dead, this evoke suspicion. The death of two healthy children together gave the doubts that the death was not natural but their was some other reason. The police was involved. During their investigation the interrogation about their last eaten food was done. The investigation revealed that they had taken milk before sleeping. In the jug of the milk, a small snake was found dead the poison of which caused the death of the children.
Now the question arose where this snake came from in the jug. The jug was kept in the refrigerator without a lid. Some bundles of spinach were placed above the jug. Presumably, the snake was in the bundles. It fell into the jug and became the reason of the kids' death.
Long ago, my aunt had eaten lizard waste mistakenly in lieu of black salt. It so happened that small pieces of black salt were kept in a bowl. It was not covered. The lizard might have come in it and dropped its waste which is black and small akin to the pieces of salt. As a result of this intake, my aunt had vomiting.
I have always seen my mom taking extra care for covering all the food items. If something is left opened unguarded, she would not let anyone eat it. She always taught me to not leave the pot opened while cooking, instead cover it as soon as we move away from it. She would said something like cockroach or any other insect might fall in it from the roof or cabinets door, which is dangerous for health. She is a wise and cautious lady who take care of these small but essential precautionary steps.
Sometimes, our little negligence, carelessness or laziness may cost us our lives or that of our loved ones (as in the case above). That’s why it is important to take care of a few things while taking or preserving food:
■ Always keep the food covered. Even in refrigerator, cover every bowl or container with a lid.
■ Before taking anything, look into it carefully to inspect if it has some external harmful agent in it.
■ Never take anything in dark especially water. Sometimes, we wake up at night, pick the uncovered glass, pour and engulf the water without looking into it. There may be some poisonous insect be in it that may cause health problems or even death.
A little Caution may save the life. Save yourself and your loved ones.
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