The objective of this study was to investigate the food safety status of street foods in the city of Can Tho, Vietnam. A total of 410 consumers was interviewed to get an insight into the popular street foods in the studied area. Vietnamese sandwich (34.63%) and sugarcane juice (24.51%) were consumed popularly according to the survey. A total of 263 street food samples (i.e.Vietnamese sandwich, n = 131 and sugarcane juice, n = 132) were collected from different locations such as schools, hospitals, markets, and other locations in four districts (i.e. Ninh Kieu, Cai Rang, Phong Dien and O Mon) of Can Tho city for microbiological analysis. Total aerobic mesophilic counts (TMC), yeast and mold, coliform, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were assessed. Microbial contamination of Vietnamese sandwich was 5.7-9.2 log CFU/g (TMC), 2.0-7.4 log CFU/g (yeast and mold), 2.5-7.9 log CFU/g (coliform), 1.0-5.9 log CFU/g (E. coli), and 1.7-6.6 log CFU/g (Staphylococcus aureus). There was a significant difference in Vietnamese sandwich sampling among districts (p<0.05). In contrast, the contamination of sugarcane juice samples with regards to total aerobic mesophilic counts, yeast and mold, coliform, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were 7.53±0.74, 5.56±0.71, 6.02±1.21, 2.26±1.31, 1.47±0.77 log CFU/mL, respectively. No statistically significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in sugarcane juice samples among districts and locations. The observation of the handling practices of street food vendors showed inadequate hygiene practices, assessment of the street foods safety showed that they do not satisfy the Vietnam hygiene standard of specific foods. These findings give an insight into the safety status of sampled street foods and may provide needed information for Vietnam’s authorities to further improve the safety of street food and create food safety awareness among consumers and handlers, thereby preventing risk to public health.
Virtual exchange (VE) in higher education provides an underemployed opportunity for fostering consumer and sustainability competencies. We explore how a crosscultural teaching-learning environment can be designed to encourage students to reflect on a complex global challenge - food consumption patterns - and their role in it. We discuss challenges regarding food consumption as a topic for VE and describe a didactic concept that employs inquiry-based learning and digital storytelling as the framework for student exploration and expression. Initially developed for VE in food studies and nutrition education, the concept can be readily transferred to other disciplines and topics. We present insights from a pilot implementation with 16 food science students from Laos and 26 pre-service teachers from Germany. The analysis of students’ responses from pre- and post-questionnaires and their digital stories suggest that the concept is promising, although some factors require improvement and careful attention, such as technologies and the lingua franca of the learning environment. Findings and lessons learned might inform other projects that similarly seek to address complex global challenges.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.