Chapter I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION
Street foods are common sources of food eaten outside home, which are sold by vendors
in markets, construction sites and along the streets. Street foods are readily available source of
meal for many people. Street food is cheap and easily accessible. The street foods are being
served quickly, tasty and available at reasonable price. (S Buscemi - 2011).
The term "street food" refers to a wide variety of ready-to eat foods and beverages sold
and sometimes prepared, in public places. Street food may be consumed where it was purchased
or can be taken away and eaten elsewhere (WHO, 2005). The established food safety know how
among the surveyed street food vendors regarding food contamination, types and symptoms of
food diseases was significant since several pathogenic microorganisms had also been isolated
from many street vended foods (Omemu et al., 2005).
The consumption of street food is common in many countries where unemployment is
high, salaries are low, work opportunities and social programmers are limited, and where
urbanization is taking place. Street food vendors benefit from a positive cash flow, often evade
taxation, and can determine their own working hours. In selling snacks, complete meals, and
refreshments at relatively low prices, they provide an essential service to workers, shoppers,
travelers, and people on low incomes. People who depend on such food are often more interested
in its convenience than in questions of its safety, quality and hygiene. (Olukoya et al.,2012)

The hygienic aspects of vending operations are a major source of concern for food
control officers. For example, stands are often crude structures, and running water may not be
readily available. Also toilets and adequate washing facilities are rarely available. The washing
of hands, utensils, and dishes is often done in buckets or bowls. Disinfection is not usually
carried out, and insects and rodents may be attracted to sites where there is no organized sewage
disposal. Finally food is not adequately protected from flies and refrigeration is usually
unavailable. (Ekanem EO 2006).
Microbial contamination of ready-to-eat foods sold by street vendors has become a global
health problem. Street foods displayed on open yards can easily be contaminated by dust,
exhaust smoke, insects, hands of intending buyers and rains. There are different sources of
microbial invasion of street-vended foods. Vendors-sold foods usually make use of simple
facilities like wheel barrows, trays, mats, tables and make-shift stalls, thus further increasing the
risk of food contamination. (T Rheinlnder - 2008).
Lack of awareness about food safety and hygiene among vendors is also resulting in food
contamination. The health risk of such products in particular is dependent on its poor
microbiological quality involves the whole process, from selecting raw material, processing,
preparation, storing, displaying to serving.
The street food industry plays an important role in developing countries in meeting the
food demands of urban dwellers. Street foods provide millions of people daily with a wide
variety of foods that are relatively cheap and easily accessible. Therefore there is a need to look
into the operations of food vendors to ascertain whether they are adhering to good hygiene
practices. This would prevent food borne illness that would affect the labour force of the country,

and thus increase productivity in all sectors of the economy. The objectives of this study were to
evaluate aspects of hygiene practices such as food preparation area, environment and location of
food vendors, personal hygiene, handling and storage of food.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
This study will explore and analyze the bacterial contamination of street foods.
Specifically it will answer the following questions.
1. What are the different hazards and violations in the street food production chain in
terms of the following steps:
a. Primary production and retailing ;
b. Processing and vending;
c. Serving consumption?
2. Is there significant difference on the concentration of the following bacteria present
in the different street food such as:
a. Staphylococcus aureus
b. Escherichia coli
c. Pseudomonas
3. How may specific action and guidelines for ensuring food safety in the following
steps be describe in the term of the following:
a. Primary production and retailing ;
b. Processing and vending;
c. Serving consumption?

HYPOTHESIS
There is no significant difference in the concentration of the following bacteria present in
the different street food such as:
a. Staphylococcus aureus
b. Escherichia coli
c. Pseudomonas

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
In order to conceptualize the study, the Input-Process-Output system will be used.

Contaminated sample of street foods , materials, and instruments

Primary data and secondary data
Determination of Data collection
Laboratory testing
Data Analysis

INPUT
PROCE
SS

Mechanisms
Food safety objective strategy
Guidlines

OUTPU
T

FIGURE 1.) RESEARCH PARADIGM

The research paradigm will employ Input-Process-Output approach. The Input part includes the
contaminated sample of street foods, materials, instruments, Primary data and secondary data.
The Process part will include the Determination of Data collection, Laboratory testing, and Data
Analysis which will be performed by the researcher. The Output part will include the
Mechanisms, food safety objective strategy and guidelines.
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION
This study will cover only the bacteriological analysis of street foods in Cabanatuan City:
From primary production and retailing, processing and vending, and serving consumption.

The different bacteria to be observed are Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and
Pseudomonas. The collected data will be used to make a specific guideline for knowing food
safety.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
FUTURE RESEARCHER- the findings of this study will serve as basis and references for the
future research studies related to the present.
COMMUNITY- This study also helps the members of the community, (specially the people of
Cabanatuan City), for them to have the awareness needed in order to protect the health and
environment. Through this, citizen of the Cabanatuan will be educated and informed with regards
to the bacterial contamination of eaten street vended food.
ENVIRONMENT- this study will promote a sense of respect, trust, cleanliness, and concern
which will benefit both the members of the community and its environment.
BUSINESS OWNER AND COMSUMERS- this study has a significant importance to business
owner and consumers in terms of educating and informing them with regards to their
responsibilities to the environment.
DEFINITION OF TERM
In order to arrive into a common understanding the following terms were operationally defined:
MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION- is defined as the presence of example; represent a special
form of microbial life that is more. Living microorganisms specified environment

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAZARD -is the state of events which has the potential to
threaten the surrounding natural environment and adversely affect people's health.
PROLIFERATION- the growth production of street vended food by continuous production or
increases of street foods in Cabanatuan.
BACTERIA- only as germs, invisible creatures that can invade our bodies and make us sick.
FOOD SAFETY- is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food
in ways that prevent food borne illness.
STREET FOODS- prepared or cooked food sold by vendors in a street or other public location
for immediate consumption.
RAW FOODSTUFF- from illegal; sources and bad quality contamination of raw foodstuffs by
different elements: initial contaminants.
TRANFORT RECEIPT- bad transport conditions with an unappropriate means.
STOGARE- usually storage is done in unadequat containers or stores without protection from
rodents and insects. Further contamination by excrements and other food wastes. Growth of
bacteria from initial contamination.
FRAGMENTATION CONDITIONING- alteration of products and addition of illegal and bad
conditioning system. further contamination via hands or in other ways. Growth of bacteria.
PRE-COOKING PREPARATION- bad separation of raw product with cooked food. Cross
contaminations usually occurs. Further contamination via hands or in other ways, survival
bacteria. Initial contaminants occur in uncooked foods.

COOKING/COOLING/REHEATING- unefficient cooking or reheating temperature, crosscontamination occurs at this step from utensils, water, environment and initial contamination
survival of pathogens or their spores, production of toxins.
EXPOSURE/VENDING- unefficients holding temperature, bad protection from files and dust.
Contamination from various sources. growth of surviving bacteria or their spore, production of
toxins.
SERVING CONSUMPTION- bad hygienic practices are observed beside consumers and
vendor. Contamination and growth of bacteria spore, production of toxins.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
RELATED LITERATURE
Street food vending has become an important public health issue and a great concern to
everybody. This is due to widespread food borne diseases, due to the mushrooming of wayside

food vendors who lack an adequate understanding of the basic food safety issues. (Bhaskar et al.,
2006). Major sources contributing to microbial contamination are the place of preparation,
utensils for cooking and serving, raw materials, time and temperature abuse of cooked foods and
the personal hygiene of vendors. Various studies have identified the sources of food safety issues
involved in street foods to be microorganism belonging to the genus Bacillus, Staphylococcus,
Clostridium, Vibrio, Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella. Application of sound risk analysis
policies is being advocated to provide a scientific base to the host of risk management option
which India may need to explore to ensure public health and safety (Tambekar et al., 2008).
Data collected from street-vended food enterprises and on vendors in countries revealed
that, they provide a variety of ready-to-eat foods to a high proportion of the populations.
Nevertheless, their handling and trading practices is not permit to obtain safe food. While, streetvended foods are easily contaminated by food borne pathogen and others chemicals compounds
(Rowland SA,2006). The street-vended foods contamination mechanisms were identified and
improvement pathways were suggested. Indeed, Food Safety Objective (FSO) concept developed
by FAO and WHO, can be used as ideal strategy for safe street food production. However, to
reach this goal, the Critical Control Points (CCP), Microbiological and Risks Assessment
(MRA), and hygienic status during street food production and sale were gathered. By assembling
and analyzing the data, the safety assurance for safe street food obtaining was evaluated at every
step of production chain. The data were juxtaposed to FSO concept frame work and applied
along the street-vended food production chain (Bankole MO 2005). We applied Performance
Objective (PO) and Control Measure (CM) respectively at operational levels, measure at relevant
points of risk and points, that permit reduction of all contamination risks along the chain, to
enhancing safe food obtaining (Hague et al., 2004). The FSO concept could help government to

elaborate guidance for street foods production, vending and consumption, producers and
vendors, training about HACCP pre-requisites and information for global view on safe streetvended food (SSF) production. This will be an important task for the primary health care system
aiming at `health for all`.(Johnston and Tompkin, 2002).
Vending Location: Food Handling and Waste Disposal
The conditions under which some street vendors operate are reported to be unsuitable for
the preparation and selling of food. The food is prepared either at home or at stalls, which are
located on the street side and are made up of wood, polythene bags, tin, etc. The place of
preparation is not always clean, well lit and not far from source of contamination. (Canet and
Ndiaye, 1996). Preparation surfaces used by some vendors have remains of foods prepared
earlier that can promote cross contamination. Most of these foods are not covered and are
exposed to flies and dust, which may harbor food borne pathogens. In 7090% of the cases,
presence of animals, insects and liquid wastes in food preparation areas have been reported. The
two major sources from where the contaminants can enter the preparation area are: Improper
food handling and waste disposal (Muinde and Kuria 2005).

Food Handling
Unsanitary handling of street foods by the some of the vendor has been commonly found
to be the source of contamination. The vendors can be carriers of pathogens like Escherichia
coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter and S. aureus who eventually transfer these food
borne hazards to the consumers. The hands of the food handlers are the most important vehicle
for the transfer of organisms from faces, nose, and skin to the food. The finding that Salmonella,

non-typhi salmonellae, Campylobacter and E. coli can survive on finger tips and other surfaces
for varying periods of time and in some cases even after washing, supports the reports of
contamination of street vended food with toxigenic S. aureus, the major being suppurative
lesions of human beings and the environment. (Kaneko et al., 2001; Mensah et al., 2001)
Waste Disposal
Few vendors congregate in overcrowded areas where there are high numbers of potential
customers, which usually provide limited access to basic sanitary facilities. Hence, the
contamination of street foods is often linked to the waste generated by food processing, that is
usually dumped near the vending site. The lack of facilities for liquid drainage and wastewater
and garbage disposal encourages wastes to be thrown into nearby streets and gutters. Such areas
act as habitats for rodents, breeding points for flies and media for growth of microorganisms. A
study done revealed that 85% of the vendors prepared foods like fish, fruit salads, roasted maize
and chips in unhygienic conditions, given that garbage and dirty waste were conspicuously close
to the stalls. In these areas large amounts of garbage accumulates which provide harborage for
insects and animal pests that are linked to enteric disease transmission (Shigella, Salmonella and
E. coli) (Bryan et al.2009, ).
Utensils and Equipments: Chemical and Microbial Contaminants
Use of proper utensils for cooking and storage of prepared food is often critical to the
safety of street vended foods. Poor quality of material coupled with improper practices may lead
to toxin formation, pathogen growth or recontamination. The design, construction and
maintenance of equipments and utensils are very important to food safety, as their poor
maintenance may lead to the inability to effectively clean and sanitize surfaces. This may then

result in the buildup of residues of food, facilitating microbial growth, leading to an increased
likelihood of contamination. The appropriate use of equipment is also important to prevent the
cross contamination from raw materials. (Kosek et al., 2003; Soyiri et al., 2008 ).
Chemical Contaminants
As some containers will leach hazardous chemicals like copper, lead and cadmium into
food, use of equipment and utensils incompatible with the food being handled, should be
avoided. This has been observed particularly with acidic food and beverages.
Microbial Contaminants
The serving utensils used at the vending site are often contaminated with Micrococcus
spp. and Staphylococcus spp. which may have originated from the vendors hands when they
touched the food preparation areas, dishcloths, or the water during dish washing or hand washing
which indicates cross contamination between dishwater, food preparation surfaces, and the food
itself.
It is reported that bacteria from dirty dish washing water and other sources adhere to the
utensil surface and can constitute a risk during the food vending process. Microbiological
analysis of utensils surface and knives have shown the presence of Salmonella and Shigella. It is
also reported that during the preparation of food, the raw material is cut and chopped using the
same knife without in between cleaning and such knives are often invaded by flies. (Woodburn
and Raab, 2007).
Food Preparation: Storage and Reheating

An important issue influencing food contamination and contributing to further increase in

contamination is food storage temperature. The preparation of food long before its consumption,
storage at ambient temperature, inadequate cooling and reheating, contaminated processed food,
and undercooking are identified as the key factors that contribute to food poisoning outbreaks.
(Slutsker et al., 1998).
Storage
Holding foods at high ambient temperatures for long periods of time have been reported
to be a major contributor to the occurrence of food poisoning outbreaks. Foods are often held for
several hours after cooking and this includes overnight holding at ambient temperatures, until
sold, and thus can harbor high microbial populations. Besides, some of the foods are held in the
pans in which they are cooked, until sold or reheated, which results in longer holding time, hence
creating favorable conditions for the growth of foodborne pathogens. In such foods, the counts of
Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens are
reported to be high. (WHO, 2002). B. cereus was isolated from 42 (26.3%) samples of fried fish,
soup, boiled rice and moin moin suggesting that their spores survived the cooking process. The
presence of this bacterium coupled with the storage of these foods at ambient temperatures for
several hours under high temperature and high relative humidity showed that the product could
be hazardous. B. cereus has been responsible for outbreaks of foodborne illness because it
produces heat stable (emetic) and heat sensitive (diarrheal) toxins when foods are held under
conducive conditions for several hours. (Burt et al., 2003).
Reheating

Timetemperature exposures during reheating need to be sufficiently high or long to

inactivate large quantities of infectious microorganisms that could develop during the lengthy
holding process. Some food vendors often partially or fully cook some products ahead of time,
store them and then reheat them when requested by customers. However, this reheating is often
inadequate to destroy bacteria that may be present as this would allow the foodborne pathogens
that germinate from spores which survived cooking or that contaminate the food after cooking, to
survive and proliferate. (Chumber et al., 2007; Ghosh et al., 2007).
Personal Hygiene of the Vendors or Food Handlers
According to WHO 2012, food handling personnel play an important role in ensuring
food safety throughout the chain of food production, processing, storage and preparation.
Mishandling and disregard of hygienic measures on the part of the food vendors may enable
pathogens to come into contact with food and in some cases to survive and multiply in sufficient
numbers to cause illness in the consumer.
Some food handlers may introduce biological hazards by cross contamination after
handling raw materials when they suffer from specific diseases and physical hazards by careless
food handling practices. Most of the vendors pack the food in polythene bags for their customers.
When packing these foods, they blow air into the polythene bags to open them, in this process a
number of pathogens can be passed on to the consumer.
RELATED STUDY
Current food safety issues are deleteriously reshaping the life style of the population in
the developing world. Socioeconomic status of the population in poorer economies is one of the
major determinants to delineate the availability of safe food to the vulnerable population.

Assessment of the prevalence of foodborne illness in developing world is the most neglected area
to control disease. Botulism, Shigellosis, Campylobacteriosis, Escherichia coli infection,
Staphylococcus aureus infection, Salmonellosis, Listeriosis and Cholerae are extensively
prevalent and pose a major threat to human health in underdeveloped communities ( Madelon F
2003).
Street foods provide ready - to - eat and fairly inexpensive priced snacks and meals for a
wide variety of people (Arambulo et al., 2005; Taylor et al., 2004). According to Scott and
Gravani (2003), temporary food service, such as mobile unit may operate on a more regular
basis, but unlike modern food service establishments operate under less than optimum
conditions.
According to WHO (2009), food handling personnel play important role in ensuring food
safety throughout the chain of food production and storage. Mishandling and disregard of
hygienic measures on the part of the food vendors may enable pathogenic bacteria to come into
contact with and in some cases survive and multiply in sufficient numbers to cause illness in the
consumer. Tivadar (2003) highlighted the increasing prevalence of eating away from home and
the use of partly or fully cooked food. Most of the vendors who sold both raw and cooked food
items were not regulated; they operated haphazardly without any monitoring of what they
prepared and how they prepared it (Ekanem, 2008; Abdalla et al., 2008b). Studies
by FAO (2005) recorded poor knowledge, practices in food handling in the assessment of
microbial contamination of food sold by vendors. This work was conducted to study the level of
food safety knowledge, practices in food handling and assessment of microbial contamination of
food sold by vendors.

Vendors are often poorly educated, unlicensed, untrained in food hygiene, and they work
under crude unsanitary conditions with little or no knowledge about the causes of food borne
disease (Barro et al., 2007). Most of the foods are not well protected from flies, which may carry
food borne pathogens. Safe food storage temperatures are rarely applied to street foods. Potential
health risks are associated with contamination of food by E.coli, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas
sp., Staphylococcus aureus or Proteus sp during preparation, post cooking and other handling
stages (Hanoshiro, et al., 2004; Ghosh, et al., 2007). Even though people are aware that food
borne diseases could occur due to consumption of street food, the majority disregards these
health hazards (Bryan, 1998). Therefore, the conditions under which street food preparation and
vending occurs raise many concerns related to consumers health.
In most cases, running water is not available at vending sites, hands and dish washing are
usually done in one or more buckets, and sometimes without soap. Waste waters and garbage are
discarded nearby, providing nutrients for insects and rodents. Some of the foods are not
efficiently protected against flies which may carry food borne pathogens. Safe food storage
temperatures are rarely applied to street foods (Bryan et al., 2004). In addition, there are potential
health risks associated with initial contamination of foods by pathogenic bacteria as well as
subsequent contamination by vendors during preparation and through post-cooking handing and
cross contamination (Bryan et al., 2004). The present study aims to establish the hygienic status
of vendor hands, dish washing waters, utensils and pieces of money and their impact in street
foods contamination.
The study conducted of EPOC, like other informal sector enterprises, street food
enterprises are characterized by the small scale of the operation, use of traditional food
processing technologies, and low capital costs that allow ease of entry into the sector. Those who

participate in this sector are principally the urban poor and this has been seen by some as an
innovative response or coping strategy on their part when denied access to more formal
employment structures.
According to (Atkinson 2012) points out, however, this view originated in the 1970s
against a backdrop of economic expansion; the macro-economic context of the 1990s is very
different and support of the informal sector should not be seen as a panacea for the urban poor.
Because of its very nature, the informal sector is not enumerated by official data collecting
agencies; thus official statistics on the street food trade are virtually non-existent. The EPOC and
Bogor projects and various FAO studies, however, have shown that the street food trade
generates a surprisingly large volume of business, which involves large amounts of money and
also provides a competitive source of employment and income to millions of people. The trade
also provides an important source of employment and income; EPOC found that the street food
trade comprised from about 6 percent of the total labor force in Zinguinchor, Senegal and
Manikganj, Bangladesh to 15 percent and 25 percent in Iloilo City, the Philippines, and Bogor,
Indonesia, respectively. Although hard work with long hours, the income derived is generally
above earnings from alternative sources of employment. The earnings of paid assistants,
however, are often less.
Complex linkages exist between vendors and the suppliers of ingredients and ready-made
foods. The EPOC study in Iloilo City in the Philippines found that the networks through which
vendors purchased their raw materials and other items for resale were complex and extended into
nearby agricultural districts and as far afield as Manila. Pre-prepared products were purchased
from small local companies, households, and large, commercial food processors in Manila. Some
vendors bought their materials directly from a variety of suppliers, which included local markets

and groceries, but others purchased them indirectly via suppliers who acted as retail
intermediaries ( Perez, 2011).
A study of the food supply system found some family-based enterprises controlling all
the steps in the food chain from growing/rearing the raw ingredients in villages outside the city,
to processing, distributing, and selling the food. In other cities, such as Ibadan, Nigeria, local
markets were the main sources for ingredients which were purchased on a daily basis. The
information available shows that patterns of acquisition of ingredients are intricate and variable.
Rural-urban linkages were found in other locations, with the urban street food trade providing an
outlet for the products of rural-agro processing (Tinker and Cohen 2010).
The distribution channels were complex; few women producers sold direct to the street
food vendors, but instead used a middleman. Unfortunately, there is virtually no available
information on those involved in activities other than selling street foods, such as the supply and
processing of materials. Again, the means by which vendors acquire ingredients and from who is
an area which would require investigation in any program evaluation because it would have a
direct impact on the potential for the fortification of street foods. ( Bergdoll, 2010).
A study conducted by (Powell et al. 2011). Many studies have examined the
characteristics of vendors and have found that street food vendors do not form a homogenous
group, but differ according to various socio-economic and demographic criteria and, in some
locations, fall into identifiable groupings. In terms of mode of selling, vendors can be broadly
classified into stationary and ambulatory. EPOC found that stationary vendors, who sold their
wares from small stalls, pushcarts, and so forth, were the predominant type in most of the
countries. Most vendors operate from selected strategic locations, including bus and train

stations, markets and shopping areas, commercial districts, outside schools and hospitals,
residential suburbs, factories, and construction sites. In some places, it appears that vendors have
a regular clientele and in Mexico City it was found that vendors charged lower prices to regular
customers. A common perception is that street food vendors tend to concentrate in downtown
commercial areas, but the EPOC studies found that this was the exception in all locations EPOC
found that totally ambulatory vendors who sell their wares from mobile carts, baskets, trays, and
balance poles were in the minority in all locations studied. Even those who sold foods from
baskets or trays tended to occupy the same spot every day. Truly mobile vendors only constituted
approximately 25 percent of vendors. Some of these followed fixed routes. The socio-economic
and demographic characteristics of street food vendors may vary along with the extent and type
of organization of sub-sectors within the trade. (Burt et al., 2003). The Bogor Street food Project
provides detailed baseline studies of entrepreneurs involved in the street food trade, their socioeconomic characteristics, their enterprises, the practical problems and constraints that they faced,
how these affected the quality of their wares, and their interest in the proposed interventions.

According to the statement of Bahir Dar town, 2012.The presence of coliform bacteria in
ready-to-eat foods indicates unhygienic conditions during processing, handling and distribution
or post processing contamination. The source of coliforms in white lupin could be the river water
in which the white lupin is soaked by the farmers for 3 to 7 days to remove the bitter substance
inside the seed and also it could be from the water that is used by the street vendors to wash the
white lupin before it is ready for the consumers. One major source of contamination of foods
sold by street vendors is the water used for washing and processing.

A study on microbial safety of the ready-to-eat food wall nut (Tetracarpidium

conophorum) showed high coliform counts. The shell of wall nut is normally removed with the
teeth possibly resulting in contaminants being easily swallowed. Poor handling of wall nut and
the natural microflora could thus have contributed to the high level of contamination.
COMPARISON OF THE PRESENT STUDY TO THE REVIEWED RELATED
STUDIES
The reviewed related literatures and studies provided the research paper a wider scope of
knowledge which supplements the present study. With the fact handed by the reviewed related
literatures, facts, data, information, stats, definitions and other important matters needed to
solidify the further claim of the study was achieved.
The reviewed studies conducted by the Bahir Dar town, focused on the study presence
of bacteria in ready-to-eat foods indicates unhygienic conditions during processing, handling and
distribution or post processing contamination.
The present study also focused on carried out to determine the food safety and hygienic
practices of vendors of street foods in Cabanatuan city. This paper sought to address various
aspects of hygienic practices like preparation skills, place of preparation of food, environment
and location of street food vendors, handling and storage of food; personal hygiene and storage
of leftovers.