The food safety knowledge of street vendors and the food safety compliance of their food service facilities, Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

The inadequate food safety knowledge by street food vendors have been a challenge encountered in ensuring safety of street foods. The aim of this study was to assess the food safety knowledge of street food vendors in the Johannesburg metropolis and to evaluate the conformance and monitoring of their street food vending facilities in accordance to regulations governing general hygiene requirements for food premises in South Africa. A cross sectional survey was conducted in which 315 street food vendors and 155 street food vending facilities were observed using a questionnaire instrument and observational checklist, respectively. The majority (61.3%) of the street food vendors were females and most (64.1%) of them had not attended a food safety training course. Only a few (12.1%) street food vendors knew the correct minimum internal cooking temperature for stuffed chicken, while less than half knew the correct temperature for cold and hot holding of ready-to-eat foods, 40% and 39% respectively. The majority of them have never heard of Salmonella (92.7%), Campylobacter (95.2%), Listeria (57.1%), Clostridium (94.3%), or Staphylococcus (87.6%). Up to 52% street food vendors had moderate food safety knowledge. Most of the street food vending facilities (68.3%) had been inspected by health inspectors and only 17% of street food vending facilities had low level of compliance to regulations governing general hygiene requirements for food premises and the transport of food in South Africa. The overall food safety knowledge of street food vendors in Johannesburg metropolis was moderate. The level of compliance and monitoring of street food vending facilities to regulations governing general hygiene requirements for food premises in South Africa was satisfactory. Street food vendors should be trained on internal cooking temperature, hot and cold storage temperature of ready-to-eat foods, and food pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, Clostridium, and Staphylococcus