Streetwise Eats: Assessing Food Safety and Hygiene Measures Among Street Food Vendors

INTRODUCTION

Street foods, as defined by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), are ready-to-eat food and beverages prepared or sold by vendors and hawkers, typically in streets and other public spaces. They are affordable and easily accessible, making them a preferred choice for many people. However, consumers often choose these convenient options without considering potential safety concerns.^[1] A street food vendor sells their products without a permanent structure, operating either in a stationary or mobile capacity. Stationary sites may be fixed or temporary, while mobile vendors move frequently, using portable booths or food carts.^[2,3]

Street food plays a significant role in the daily lives of urban residents who seek quick, convenient meals. It is popular due to its affordability and variety, especially among lower- and middle-income groups.^[4] Vendors typically operate in busy public places that attract high foot traffic, and hence the customers. In many countries, street food vending is a common practice and an essential income source for vendors who rely on it to support their families. Moreover, it often reflects the culture of the city where it is sold, adding to its appeal.^[5]

Despite its popularity and cultural significance, street food is often associated with hygiene and health risks.^[6] Limited infrastructure, including inadequate access to water and electricity, poses challenges to maintaining proper hygiene, which can threaten public health. This lack of cleanliness is further compounded by issues such as substandard raw material selection, inadequate cooking and storage practices, and poor waste management.^[5] Food prepared in the streets is often handled by multiple individuals during production, transportation, and serving, thus increasing the risk of contamination. Improper food handling practices can lead to accidental contamination, resulting in widespread health issues among consumers.^[7]

A lack of knowledge among food vendors is a major factor contributing to unsafe food handling practices.^[8] Ensuring safe food hygiene is particularly challenging at the street level, contributing to the frequent occurrence of diseases like diarrhoea.^[9] This study aims to assess the food safety and hygiene practices among street food vendors and the factors influencing these practices, knowledge, and attitudes towards food safety and hygiene.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A cross-sectional investigation was carried out among street food vendors in specific zones of Mangaluru city. The data collection took place between March and April of 2020. In accordance with the study conducted by Singh et al.^[10], the proportion of good hygiene practices was determined to be 63%. The sample size for the study was calculated using the formula:

$n=\frac{Z_{1-\propto /2}^{2}p(1-p)}{d^2}$

Where, $z_{1-\propto /2}^2$ represents the critical value for the desired confidence level, ‘p’ denotes the prevalence, and ‘d’ indicates the desired margin of error. The sample size was determined based on these calculations. The researchers employed a two-stage sampling technique for the study. In the first stage, two zones were randomly selected using a simple random sampling method, often referred to as the lottery method. In the second stage, convenience sampling was utilised as depicted in Figure 1. Data collection involved the use of a researcher-assisted interview schedule and observational checklists to gather relevant information. The interview schedule and checklists were designed to facilitate the data collection.

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Figure 1:

Sampling technique. n represents street food vendors.

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The study utilised a structured tool comprising a questionnaire and an observation guide to evaluate various aspects of street food vendors. The questionnaire was organised into four sections. The first part gathered socio-demographic details, including age, gender, education, place of origin, marital status, business tenure, health perspective, and habits of the vendors, focusing on their consumption patterns related to alcohol and tobacco. The second part addressed food safety and hygiene practices, encompassing 27 questions related to food preparation, storage, disposal, and personal hygiene. The third part consisted of 13 statements to assess street food vendors knowledge of food safety and hygiene, categorized as poor, average and good based on quartiles. The fourth part consisted of 11 statements to assess vendors attitude towards food safety and hygiene categorized positive attitude and negative attitude.

In addition to the questionnaire, an observation guide was implemented, featuring checklists that evaluated personal hygiene practices (11 statements) and food safety measures (15 statements) employed by the vendors. The respondents were observed for 10 minutes at the selling point to understand the practice of serving food to the customers. To ensure the tool’s validity, a pilot study was conducted, and feedback was obtained from multiple professionals in the field. Reliability was determined using Cronbach’s alpha, yielding values of 0.723 and 0.712 for the knowledge and attitude scales, respectively, indicating satisfactory reliability for the study’s measures.

Chi-square tests and likelihood ratio tests were used to find the association between sociodemographic variables and knowledge, attitude, and practice. Statistical software SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Prior to conducting the study, institutional ethical clearance was obtained from K S, Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte, Karnataka, India, with reference number INST.EC/EC/116/2019-20. This clearance ensured that the study adhered to ethical guidelines and protected the rights and well-being of the participants.

RESULTS

The study found that the respondents had a mean age of 43.8 ± 3.2 years, with the youngest being 19 years and the oldest being 80 years. The majority of participants were within the age group of 19 to 29 years. Most respondents were males (n=365, 92.2%). The majority of the street food vendors were from Mangaluru (n=192, 48.5%), followed by Nepalese (n=70, 17.6%). More than half of the street food vendors (n=242, 61.1%) had less than 10 years of vending experience. Around 98.7% (n=391) of respondents had not received any training on food safety and hygiene before starting their food vending businesses. Of the small percentage (n=5, 1.3%) who had received such training, the majority (n=4, 80%) received it from the city corporation [Supplementary Table S1].

The respondents under observation for hygiene practices revealed that most did not adhere to basic hygiene. The majority (n= 395, 99.7%) did not wash their hands before cooking, 387 (97.7%) did not cover their hair, and 389 (98.2%) did not use gloves while handling food. Around 35 (8.8%) were observed blowing air into polythene bags before use, and 269 (67.9%) used dirty clothes or their bare hands to remove dirt. The clothes worn by most respondents appeared presentable (n=151, 38.1%). Around 78.5% (n=31) of respondents did not wear jewellery while working, and n=380 (99.2%) refrained from chewing tobacco [Table 1].

One-third (35.3%) of the respondents followed good practices and there was significant association between food safety and hygiene practices and factors such as education (p = 0.014), location of the business (p = 0.050), and type of sale (p = 0.036). However, no association was found between food safety and hygiene practices with age, gender or duration of business. One-fourth of the respondents (n=88, 22.2%) were found to have good knowledge of food safety and hygiene. A significant association was observed between knowledge and factors such as education (p<0.01) and type of sale (p=0.020), while no significant associations were found with age, gender, location of business, or business duration [Table 2].

The majority (n=218, 55.1%) of the food vendors had positive attitudes toward food safety and hygiene practices. A significant association was found between attitude and education (p = 0.006), indicating that higher education levels contributed to a more positive attitude toward food safety and hygiene practices [Table 3].

DISCUSSION

The present study included a total of 396 street food vendors, with a mean age of 43.8 ± 3.2 years. Similar to studies conducted in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.^[11-13] Nearly half of the respondents (48.5%) were local residents, while the remaining were migrants from other states and neighbouring countries like Nepal. Similar findings were observed in studies conducted in Assam (86%), Mumbai (65.5%), and Delhi (36%), where local residents were, and the rest were migrants from other states.^[11,14,15]

In the present study, a majority of respondents (57.8%) were business owners, aligning with findings from Dhaka city, where two-thirds of respondents were also business owners.^[16] Regarding the duration of involvement in the street food business, nearly half (47.5%) of the respondents had been involved for less than 5 years, consistent with studies conducted in China and Ghana.^[17,18] A large majority (98.7%) of food handlers in the present study had not received any training on food safety and hygiene practices compared to studies conducted in Uttar Pradesh (28.5%) and Sarawak (29.6%).^[19,20]

The current study observed that the majority of respondents lacked clean short nails (83%), hand gloves (98.2%), and head coverings (97.7%). However, only a small proportion were found chewing or smoking tobacco (4.8%) and blowing air into plastic bags before use (8.8%). Most respondents (61.9%) wore clean, presentable clothing. A similar study in Delhi found that most vendors did not use hand gloves or head coverings but did maintain clean, short nails.^[15] A study conducted in Vadodara reported that most vendors did not wear gloves or cover their hair; more than two-thirds had clean nails, less than two-thirds had short nails, many were observed blowing air into plastic bags, and the majority did not smoke.^[21]

Two-thirds of food handlers in the present study exhibited poor food safety and hygiene practices, average knowledge on food safety and hygiene practices, and a positive attitude toward food safety and hygiene practices. The study conducted in Sarawak reported consistently average scores for food safety and hygiene practices, knowledge, and attitude.^[20] Similarly, in Kolkata, respondents were aware of symptoms caused by food poisoning, but some incorrectly assumed that malaria and dengue were food-borne illnesses. However, in the present study, respondents correctly identified symptoms of food poisoning but were largely unaware that typhoid fever can be transmitted through food.^[22]

The current study found significant associations between knowledge and both education level and type of sale (p<0.05). In contrast, a study conducted in Tamil Nadu did not find associations between knowledge and socio-demographic characteristics such as age, gender, education, type of shop, and years of experience.^[23] The present study identified associations between age, education, location of business, and type of sale with food safety and hygiene practices. Positive attitudes toward food safety and hygiene practices were associated with education. Conversely, the study conducted in Kolkata found associations between marital status and type of vendor with food safety and hygiene practices and attitudes. However, education was only associated with food safety and hygiene practices among the food handlers.^[22]

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study highlight critical gaps in food safety and hygiene practices among food vendors, with a large majority failing to adhere to basic hygiene measures, such as handwashing, the use of gloves, and hair covering. Although the appearance of most vendors was presentable, other risky practices, like blowing air into polythene bags and using unclean hands or materials to handle food, were prevalent. Although over half of the respondents exhibited positive attitudes toward food safety, only one-third demonstrated good practices, and just a quarter had adequate knowledge of food safety and hygiene. The study identified significant associations between hygiene practices, knowledge, and attitudes with factors such as age, education, business location, and type of sale, highlighting the impact of education and business context on food safety adherence. These insights emphasise the need for targeted education and intervention programs to improve food safety practices and foster positive attitudes among food vendors, ultimately contributing to safer food handling and reduced health risks for consumers.