Street food’s microbiological load and vendors’ food hygiene and safety practices compliance in the schools of Cebu City
Ritchelle W. Origenes, Rowena Espinosa-Gelisanga & Sheila B. Alturas
Abstract
This study utilized descriptive statistics to assess the microbiological load and the vendor’s compliance with eight international codes of food safety and hygiene principles among 51 randomly chosen street food vendors in the north and south district schools of Cebu City. Samples of kwekwek and two kinds of dipping sauce were collected and sent to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) laboratory. The compliance levels were rated based on a yes/no scale calculated from the compliance scores of every food hygiene and safety principle. The E. coli count reported from the laboratory tests showed that every food sample from all locations suggested fecal contamination. Results of the compliance scores showed that food vendors from the selected study areas have very good compliance with the use of protective clothing, provision of water at vending point, cleanliness of fingernails, and use of appropriate kitchenware for dishing out food to consumers but very poor compliance with the use of head covering, obtaining a business permit and sanitary/health card. Although the study revealed a marginally good overall compliance score, the result could imply no possible association between the vendors’ food safety and hygiene practices and the presence of E. coli in the food samples tested.
Keywords
street foods, food consumption, food security, food safety and hygiene, microbiological assessment, E. coli
Author information & Contribution
Ritchelle W. Origenes. Corresponding author. Master Teacher, Mabolo National High School, Cebu City, Philippines
Rowena Espinosa-Gelisanga. Faculty, Griffin Foundation School District, Arizona, USA
Sheila B. Alturas. Faculty, Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City, Philippines
Disclosure statement
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Declaration
Notes
Acknowledgement
References
Apanga, S., Addah, J. and Danso R.S. (2014). Food Safety Knowledge and Practice of Street Food Vendors in Rural Northern Ghana. Food and Public Health 4(3): 99-103.
Barcelon, E. G., et. al. (2015). Consumer Perception and Microbiological Analysis on Safety of Street Food Dipping Sause. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 3(1).
Buttiaux, R., & Mossel, D. A. A. (1961). The significance of various organisms of faecal origin in foods and drinking water. Journal of Applied Bacteriology, 24(3), 353-364.
Cabahug, Melissa. (2017). DepEd to school kids: Don’t buy street food. Cebu Daily New – Inquirer. Retrieved from https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/63909/deped-to-school-kids-dont-buy-street-food#ixzz5RhVKluVP
Calopez, C. G., Herbalega, C. M. L., Canonicato, C. J., Españo, M. F., & Francisco, A. J. M. (2017, January). Food safety awareness and practices of street food vendors in Iloilo City. In 2017 CEBU International Conference on Studies in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (SASSH-17) January (pp. 26-27).
Cardinoza, Gabriel. (2017). 33 pupils in Pangasinan school ill after eating ‘isaw’ burgers. Inquirer. Retrieved from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/908080/33-pangasinan-grade-school-pupils-fell-ill-after-eating-isaw-burgers#ixzz5RhPn63pW
Chakravarthy I. (2003). Street foods: Safety, Risk and Nutrition Potential, Nutrition Goals for Asia-Vision 2020. Nutrition Foundation of India 2003; 660-662.
Chauliac, M., T. Monnier, and M. A. Bendech. (1994). Bamako school age children and their diet from street vendors (in French). Santé 4:413- 423.
Chukuezi, C.O. (2010). Food safety and hyienic practices of street food vendors in Owerri, Nigeria. Studies in Sociology of Science. 1(1): 50–57.
Fernando, Cielo. (2021). 13 Irresistible Street Food in the Philippines That Will Give You Major Foodgasm. ZenRooms. Retrieved from https://www.zenrooms.com/blog/post/street-food-philippines/
Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2007) Interim guidance document on the use of: 1) Food safety criteria specified in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on Microbiological Criteria for Foodstuffs and 2) Guidelines for the Interpretation of Results of Microbiological Analysis of Some Ready-to-Eat Foods Sampled at Point-of-Sale (FSAI GN No. 3)
Food Standards Australia New Zealand. (2001). Guidelines for the microbiological examination of ready-to-eat foods.
FSAI. (2014). Guidelines for the Interpretation of Results of Microbiological Testing of Ready‐to‐Eat Foods Placed on the Market (Revision1).
Joglekar, Abhaya. (2013). A study on personal hygiene of street food vendors of Raipur City. Asian Journal of Home Science. 8. 586-589.
Kariuki, E. N., Waithera, N. Z., & Wanzala, P. (2017). Bacteriological contamination of street foods among street food vendors in githurai and gikomba markets-Nairobi county, Kenya. Int J Innov Res Adv Stud, 4, 337-346.
Kothe, C. I., Schild, C. H., Tondo, E. C., & da Silva Malheiros, P. (2016). Microbiological contamination and evaluation of sanitary conditions of hot dog street vendors in Southern Brazil. Food Control, 62, 346-350.
Llacuna, Jose. (2015). Number of Caraga poisoning victims rises to almost 2,000. ABS-CBN. Retrieved from https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/regions/07/12/15/number-caraga-poisoning-victims-rise-almost-2000.
Madueke, S. N., Awe, S., & Jonah, A. I. (2014). Microbiological Analysis of Street Foods Along Lokoja-Abuja Express Way, Lojoka. American Journal of Research Communication, 2(1), 196–211.
Mekasha, T., Neela, S., & Kumela, D. (2016). Food safety knowledge, practice and attitude of food handlers in traditional hotels of Jimma Town, Southern Ethiopia. Ann. Food Sci. Technol. 17, 507–517.
Minh, N. P. (2017). Food safety knowledge and hygiene practice of street vendors in mekong river delta region. Int. J. Appl. Eng. Res, 12, 15292-15297.
Monney, I., Agyei, D. and Owusu. W. (2013). Hygienic practices among food vendors in educational institutions in Ghana: the case of Konongo. Foods. 2: 282-294.
Neffati, L, et al. (2004). Street food among children: A Study in North Tunisia. Sante. Jan-Mar; 14(1): 43-8
Nurudeen, A. A., Lawal, A. O. and Ajayi, S. A. (2014). A survey of hygiene and sanitary practices of street food vendors in the Central State of Northern Nigeria. Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology. 6(5). 174-181.
Pascual, P. L., Olobia, L. P., Pascual, G. L., & Abenis, N. D. (2019). Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAPs) on Food Safety Among Food Handlers in School Canteens in Eastern Visayas, Philippines. Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology, 7, 58-67.
Posner, J. (1983). Street foods in Senegal. Chevy Chase, MD: Equity Policy Center.
Rajan, V., & Aruna, N. (2017). Microbial Analysis of Street Foods of Different Locations at Chennai City, India. Innovat International Journal of Medical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2(1), 23–25.
Rebouças, L. T., Santiago, L. B., Martins, L. S., Rios Menezes, A. C., Araújo, M. D., & Almeida, R. C. (2017). Food safety knowledge and practices of food handlers, head chefs and managers in hotels’ restaurants of Salvador, Brazil. Food Control, 73, 372-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.08.026
Rustia, A., AZANZA, M., & GASCON, F. (2017). Food safety knowledge assessment model for pre-trained food handlers. Philippine Journal of Science, 146(4), 371-385.
Rustia, A. S., Tan, M. A. P., Guiriba, D. N. S., Magtibay, F. P. S., Bondoc, I. R. J., & Mariano, C. B. D. (2021). Defining Risk in Food Safety in the Philippines. Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal, 9(1), 233-257.
Sofos J. (2013). Advances in microbial food safety. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, 2013.
Selepe, Mosa and Mjoka (2017). Food hygiene practices and attitudes of the street food vendors at KwaDlangezwa, Northern KwaZulu Natal. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, Volume 6 (3).
Taherdoost, H. (2016). Sampling methods in research methodology; how to choose a sampling technique for research. How to Choose a Sampling Technique for Research (April 10, 2016).
Van Olem, E., & Olmogues, A. J. (2021). Food Safety Practices among Street Food Vendors in Dipolog City.
Webb, R. E., and S. A. Hyatt. 1988. Haitian street foods and their nutritional contribution to dietary intake. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 21:199-209.
Winarno, F. G., & Allain, A. (1991). Street foods in developing countries: lessons from Asia. Alimentation, Nutrition et Agriculture (FAO); Alimentacion, Nutricion y Agricultura (FAO).
World Health Organization (WHO). Diarrhoeal disease. Geneva: WHO, 2015. [Cited 2017 Jan 11].
Yeboah-Manu, D., Kpeli, G., Akyeh, M., & Bimi, L. (2010). Bacteriological quality of ready-to-eat foods sold on and around university of Ghana campus. Research Journal of Microbiology, 5(2), 130-136.
Cite this article:
Espinosa-Gelisanga, R. & Alturas, S.B. (2022). Street food’s microbiological load and vendors’ food hygiene and safety practices compliance in the schools of Cebu City. International Journal of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, 2(1), 48-60. https://doi.org/10.53378/352874
License:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) International License.
