Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of street food vendors in Jashore region, Bangladesh

Abstract

Most people now have their meals outside their homes and are vulnerable to illness caused by food. Unsafe food preparation and supply by vendors have made food safety a concern for public health. Jashore is a densely populated city, this study was designed to evaluate food safety knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of food vendors in Jashore region, Bangladesh. A randomized descriptive cross-sectional study on food safety KAP was conducted among 200 food vendors. Where 96% were male food vendors, 72.5% were smokers, and 63% were found to be overweight or obese. While 72.5% vendors had good knowledge of food safety, only 33% and 0.5% had good food safety attitude and practice, respectively. Among the socio-demographic factors investigated, only the level of education showed significant influence (p = 0.005 and 0.015) on the food safety knowledge and practice of the vendors. While handling food, over 90% vendors did not use any personal protective equipment, 4.5% had diarrhoea, 8.5% did not wash their hands after going to the toilet and 28.5% reused previous leftover oils. The data suggest that the overall food safety knowledge of suppliers in the Jashore region is good but their attitudes and practices need to be improved.

Street food handlers' food safety knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices and consumers' perceptions about street food vending in Maseru, Lesotho

“…This poor practice was followed by 43% of food handlers in this study. Hossen et al (2020) obtained similar results where only 48% of the vendors in their study adequately cleaned and sanitized their knives after chopping raw food.…”

Microbiological quality and presence of enteropathogenic bacteria in orange juice sold in popular markets

“…That street-vending food is a source of risk to consumer health and should be treated as an important health problem. Food handlers and vendors sometimes have poor knowledge of safe handling, which is reflected in their inadequate facilities, unhygienic practices during preparation and sale (Hossen et al, 2020;Ferrari et al, 2021).…”

“…The nutrient contribution of consuming minimally processed products like juices is very important, making it necessary to ensure the quality and safety of these products, since their management and preparation makes them highly perishable due to the presence of fungi and yeasts (Das et al, 2010). The presence of coliforms and antimicrobial-resistant pathogens have been identified in fresh foods and unpasteurized fruit juices have been reported as vehicles of foodborne outbreaks of Escherichia coli, Staphilococcus aurus Cryptosporidium, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, Candida, sp., and Acetobacter, among others (Reinders et al, 2001;Hanashiro et al, 2005;Ramos et al, 2010;Guven et al, 2010;Baragón et al, 2013;Aneja et al, 2014a;Callejón et al, 2015;Hossen et al, 2020).…”

“…The microbiological quality of minimally processed products (like unpasteurized citrus juices) is mainly determined by the correct washing and disinfection of fruits, cleanliness, and washing and disinfection of the surfaces and utensils employed (knives, juice extractors, and cutting boards) (Aneja et al, 2014a;Hossen et al, 2020). In addition to not complying with health regulations on the waste generated, the product is prepared in areas near sewer drains that are a focus of contamination due to the presence of pests.…”

The implications of organizational environment questionnaire for the assessment of occupational injury among medical workers

“…In addition, the situation of mental health in medical workers in China can also not be optimistic and the rate of suicides of doctors was dramatically increased in recent years. Moreover, food have significant effect on the health of medical workers (Yildiz et al, 2021;Hossen et al, 2021;Ein Ali Afjeh et al, 2020).…”