CHAPTER 1

The Problem and Its Setting

Introduction

Street food is a significant contributor to nutrition and food security. It

provides the population with cheap, easy meals (Alimi, 2016), and is popular with

all income groups, most especially children and the urban poor (Simopolous,

2011). Since street food in the Philippines may contain healthy ingredients (e.g.,

kwek-kwek has cucumbers and seaweed, taho has tofu), people are able to justify

eating these.

However, due to being a mostly informal sector, street food vending is

known to be full of unhygienic practices, specifically in regards to the preparation

and handling of the food. This is more commonly observed in developing countries,

such as Mexico, Malaysia, and the Philippines (Alimi, 2016). Furthermore,

foodborne pathogens such as Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and

Salmonella have been identified as hazards in poorly handled street food (Rane,

2011).

There are many street food stalls in front of the Stella Maris Academy of

Davao (SMAD) campus, all heavily patronized by the students of SMAD. This

makes the study relevant. The researchers have pursued this study with the goal

of determining whether or not this food poses any threat to the digestive health of

SMAD students.
Background of the Study

The safety of street food has been overseen since the 1300s (Snodgrass,

2004). Government agencies over the world have conducted researches on street

food.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) once

funded a study in the 90s about the possible ‘micronutrient fortification’ to be found

in street food. This study posited that more bias and prejudice was targeted

towards street food than consideration that it could be used as a vehicle for

introduction of required nutrients, due to a lack of empirical evidence that they

posed any sort of danger (Draper, 1996).

In contrast, another study in Nairobi, Kenya concluded that street foods

contributed to the food security of the urban poor and that street food vending was

a viable way for someone with little capital to start a business - although sanitation

should be improved, as the water being used in Nairobi street food vending was

possibly contaminated with fecal material (Korir, 1996). A study in Guatemala two

years later found that the vendors in Guatemala City were using unhygienic

facilities, and that the water being used was also not safe for consumption (Freese,

1998).

For the Philippines, a survey of 54 street food vendors on an urban

university campus in 2000 showed that there was a significant gap in the

knowledge and actual practice of food safety in Quezon City (Azanza et al., 2000).

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The suggested solution was for financial assistance and basic utilities to be

provided by the local government.

The World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia (2011)

hosted a regional consultation on street foods with the aim of promoting safe street

foods. The representative for the Philippines noted that, although there were

annual examinations and immunizations organized by local government

authorities in addition to a registry of vendors in certain areas, there was still no

national policy regulating street foods (at least at the time of the consultation). The

Department of Science and Technology(DOST) then conducted tests on selected

urban centers throughout the Philippines such as Davao City and Cagayan de Oro

and analyzed around 40 food samples to find E. coli and Salmonella, in amounts

enough to ‘get people sick’. Most of this food was exposed to dust and flies (Quiros,

2012).

Conversely, the Lyceum of the Philippines University in Batangas City ran

a survey which found that, as a whole, the street food vendors were practicing

appropriate measures for maintaining cleanliness in their work environments

(Buted & Ylagan, 2014). In a similar study in Tanuan City, Batangas, surveys and

interviews showed that hand washing and clean utensils were highly valued by

vendors (Aquino et. al., 2015).

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Theoretical Framework

This study’s hypothesis is anchored by the presentation of Rane in 2011,

which states that street food, when handled poorly, can cause digestive diseases.

Succeeding studies, such as Quiros’ study in 2012, and Cortese’s study in 2016,

also served as basis for the researchers to conduct this experiment.

The subjects showing symptoms of digestive disease due to consumption

of street food will only confirm this theory, and disprove it if not.

Conceptual Framework

Street food intake Digestive health

Fig. 1. Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study. The independent

variable (street food intake) has a direct relationship with the dependent variable

(digestive health).

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Statement of the Problem

In pursuing this study, the researchers aim to answer the following questions:

1. Which symptoms of digestive disease are most common after

consuming street food?

2. Which particular street foods are most conducive to digestive diseases?

3. Does street food have a significant effect on digestive health?

Hypothesis

There is a significant effect of street food on the digestive health of Senior

High School students in Stella Maris Academy of Davao.

Significance of the Study

Several groups will benefit from this study, most notably parents, school

staff, street food vendors, and the students themselves.

Parents will be better notified about what their children are eating. Whether

or not street food is shown to have a negative effect on the digestive health of the

students, the parents will still be able to make a better decision about allowing or

disallowing their children from eating street food.

School staff may also be involved in this study, as some of them consume

street food. The same decision about eating or not eating street food will be easier

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for them to make based on information from this study. The school staff are not

restricted to simply teaching staff, however. The administration may be able to

make a decision on whether or not they will allow the street food vendors to

continue to sell outside the campus, and cafeteria staff will be able to adjust

accordingly.

Street food vendors, if informed about the results of this study, could

accommodate any heightened standards for food safety and hygiene.

The students are the most affected by any information from this study. Many

students use street food as a cheap, easy way to nourish themselves during the

school day. They may have to change their eating habits as their parents (or they

themselves) are more informed about street food.

Definition of Terms

1. Street food – food that can be found and bought in every corner of the

street, at different times of the day. Street food vending is commonly a

family or one-person business, and oftentimes done without a license

(Fellows & Hilmi, 2011).

2. Food security – a condition in which the entire population of a country

has complete access to safe and nutritious food (Food and Agriculture

Organization, 2008).

3. Informal sector – non-traditional means of earning money that are not

formally recognized by the government, and are therefore untaxed. May

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 be legal or illegal (Mywage.com, 2018). Street food vending is an

example of this.

Scope and Delimitation

As the study was conducted in a limited time (five days) and with

limited resources, only ten subjects were chosen for the experiment. The only

street food carts perused were the ones in front of the SMAD campus. Also, due

to scheduling differences, the researchers were driven to change the meal plan for

each subject in Group B while the experiment was ongoing, although the subjects

were still asked to provide information about their regular meals on the days that

they consumed street food. Furthermore, the subjects were not required to fast

before consuming each kind of street, as required by procedures such as blood

tests (Burgess, 2017), and experiments similar to this one.

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