Street Food, Food Safety, and Regulation: What is the Panorama in Colombia?: A Review

Abstract

Public management of street food is a challenge in many countries. In Colombia, despite the extent of the economic, social, and food contributions of the segment and the concern from the public health perspective, the amount of research on the subject still remains insufficient. Thus, this study aimed to establish a panorama of the street food trade in Colombia, considering its mode of operation, food security, and regulatory context, based on the scientific literature published between 2000 and 2018. A literature review was carried out in the Medline, SciELO, LILACS, Scopus, Redalyc, and Google Scholar databases, as well as in the University of Colombia's institutional repositories and scientific books. A set of 19 publications were selected and evaluated for three dimensions—work and culture, food safety, and regulation—according to the objectives and methodologies applied. In category 1, relative to work and culture, five studies were retrieved (26.3%), highlighting the economic and social contribution of the sector and the protection of food cultural heritage. Category 2, referring to hygiene and microbiological safety in the activity, covers 11 publications (57.9%) and comprised the largest research field of interest in the country. Among the food pathogens surveyed, Salmonella spp. were the most investigated, registering nonconformity in the samples (6.55%). Category 3, with three articles (15.8%), covered public policies and regulation of the segment, highlighting the challenges to regulating the sector and the need for intersectional articulation in administrative policies. The results confirm both the relevance of the segment to food security and the concern with microbiological hazards, demanding strategies to improve its regulation and functioning in the country, with the aim of protecting the health of consumers. HIGHLIGHTS

Food Hygiene, Safety Measures, and Associated Factors among Street Food Vendors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Implications for Intervention Activity Design and Implementation

“…According to this study's findings, three hundred fifty (70.9%) street food vendors were female. This finding was in line with research conducted in Ghana's northern area, which found that the majority of food vendors were women [14][15][16][17]. The general hygienic practice of street food vendors was unsatisfactory.…”

Interactions between Street Food and Food Safety Topics in the Scientific Literature—A Bibliometric Analysis with Science Mapping

“…The first finding that emerges from the results is that the interest to pursue research related to food safety within street food sector has significantly increased during the last 21 years; in fact, between 2000 and 2021, the number of articles on street food, food safety and their connection increased progressively ( Figure 2 ). The aim of the studies observed was to study how to increase food safety and hygiene during preparation and consumption of street food and also the consumers’/vendors’ knowledge about this issue [ 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. Although the SFS covers a wide range of subject categories, a large proportion of the publications were related to street food and food safety separately.…”

Informal gastronomy: food, territory and resistance in the plazoleta of San Victorino, Bogotá Colombia

“…Informal gastronomy are those prepared foods sold in public places for consumption without further processing or preparation (CONTRERAS et al, 2020). It is also referred to as nutrition and heritage (CRUZ et al, 2022).…”