Consumer Eating Behavior and Opinions about the Food Safety of Street Food in Poland

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Isolated from Street Foods: A Systematic Review

Street food may be a vehicle of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) to humans. Foods contaminated with ARB entail serious problems or challenges in the fields of medical care, animal husbandry, food industry, and public health worldwide. The objectives of this systematic review were to identify and evaluate scientific reports associated with ARB isolated from various street foods. "Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis" (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. The bibliographic material covers a period from January 2015 to April 2024. Six electronic scientific databases were searched individually for full-text articles; only those papers that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected. Seventeen papers were included in this systematic review. This study highlighted the wide distribution of ARB resistant to β-lactams and other antibiotics, posing significant health risks to consumers. High resistance levels were observed for antibiotics such as ampicillin, ceftriaxone, and tetracycline, while some antibiotics, such as ceftazidime, clavulanic acid, cefoperazone, cotrimoxazole, doxycycline, doripenem, fosfomycin, vancomycin, and piperacillin-tazobactam, demonstrated 100% susceptibility. The prevalence of ARB in street foods varied between 5.2% and 70.8% among different countries. The multiple resistance of various bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Salmonella, and Klebsiella, to multiple classes of antibiotics, as well as environmental factors contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance (AR), emphasize the urgent need for comprehensive approaches and coordinated efforts to confront antimicrobial resistance (AMR) under the "One Health" paradigm.

Ethiopian Street Foods: Working Conditions and Governance Perspectives. A Qualitative Study

Introduction

Street foods are foods and beverages as either ready for direct consumption or minimally processed, prepared, and/or sold by vendors and handlers. The objective of this study was to explore the condition and governance of street foods in Ethiopia.

Method

A qualitative exploratory study was employed from December 2022 to January 2023 in Addis Ababa, Hawassa, Dire Dawa, and Jimma, cities of Ethiopia. Twelve respondents comprised key informants from selected governmental sectors were interviewed. The purposive sampling method was used to recruit study participants. The number of participants interviewed was determined by the information saturation criterion, and data were collected at the interviewee's offices. Data were collected by using key informant interview technique and audio recorded. An interview guide was used to facilitate interviews and thematic analysis was employed. The Overall data management process was conducted using Atlas-ti V 8 software.

Result

The result revealed there were 4 thematic areas these were street food vendors and vending process, policy content and implementation, integration and coordination of sectors, and the way forward. The street food vendors prepared their food in an insanitary manner, absence of common working places for the vendors, lack of due emphasis for the street food vendors in the national food and nutrition policy, lack of formalization and legalization of street food vendors, poor coordination among sectors and institutions work on street food governance, and weakness on the implementation of rules and regulations in controlling street food vendors were the prominent gaps that were identified in the policy.

Conclusion

Though Ethiopia has a national food and nutrition policy, the policy doesn't adequately address the street food vending sector. Besides, it is not well communicated to the implementers resulting in poor policy implementation. Quantifying socio-economic benefits of street food vending activities in Ethiopia needs further investigation.

Surface Hygiene Evaluation Method in Food Trucks as an Important Factor in the Assessment of Microbiological Risks in Mobile Gastronomy

Street food outlets are characterised by poor microbiological quality of the food and poor hygiene practices that pose a risk to consumer health. The aim of the study was to evaluate the hygiene of surfaces in food trucks (FT) using the reference method together with alternatives such as PetrifilmTM and the bioluminescence method. TVC, S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. were assessed. The material for the study consisted of swabs and prints taken from five surfaces (refrigeration, knife, cutting board, serving board, and working board) in 20 food trucks in Poland. In 13 food trucks, the visual assessment of hygiene was very good or good, but in 6 FTs, TVC was found to exceed log 3 CFU/100 cm2 on various surfaces. The assessment of surface hygiene using various methods in the food trucks did not demonstrate the substitutability of culture methods. PetrifilmTM tests were shown to be a convenient and reliable tool for the monitoring of mobile catering hygiene. No correlation was found between the subjective visual method and the measurement of adenosine 5-triphosphate. In order to reduce the risk of food infections caused by bacteria in food trucks, it is important to introduce detailed requirements for the hygiene practices used in food trucks, including techniques for monitoring the cleanliness of surfaces coming into contact with food, in particular cutting boards and work surfaces. Efforts should be focused on introducing mandatory, certified training for food truck personnel in the field of microbiological hazards, appropriate methods of hygienisation, and hygiene monitoring.

Responsibility of citizens in food safety social co-governance in the context of China

Objective

This study aims to identify all actors that hold some responsibility for ensuring food safety based on the complete food supply chain in the context of China's current circumstances.

Methods

The study was conducted among citizens in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. All citizens fully understood the purpose of the study and voluntarily agreed to participate. From December 10 to 14, 2020, a total of 398 valid samples were collected by the researchers using a structured questionnaire. Survey data were assessed using best–worst scaling and a mixed logit model from the perspective of citizen responsibility.

Results

In descending order, responsibility for ensuring food safety goes from food producers and traders (including producers, distributors, and retailers) to the government, social organizations, news media, and finally to citizens. Food producers and traders are the actors who should take the greatest responsibility, whereas citizens bear the least responsibility.

Conclusion

The responsibility of citizens in food safety co-governance should be recognized but it should not be arbitrarily extended.

Evaluation of the Hygienic Quality of the Gastronomic Offer of a Coastal Tourist Destination: A Study in San Pablo, Ecuador

In Ecuador, the San Pablo commune is one of the main tourist destinations in the Ecuadorian coastal region, recognized for its scenic landscapes and its gastronomy based on fish and seafood. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hygienic quality of the food offered in this location. Hence, five local restaurants were audited for compliance to good manufacturing practices (GMP), considering requirements for personnel, raw materials, facilities, equipment and utensils, quality assurance and storage conditions. Concurrently, four groups of ready-to-serve foods were sampled: rice, fish, natural juice, and raw salads to analyze total coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella spp. The results confirmed the absence of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella spp. However, values outside the norm for total coliforms were quantified in three food groups. There was an average compliance of 66.46 ± 16.67% regarding GMP with no significant difference in compliance between the six groups of requirements. These results indicate that work is needed to improve GMP, increase the hygienic quality of food and enhance the gastronomy offered in San Pablo.

An Evaluation of the Hygiene Practices of Polish Street Food Vendors in Selected Food Trucks and Stands

Today, street food vending is becoming a dynamically developing food industry in Europe, including Poland. Lifestyle changes and socioeconomic factors, especially among young consumers, make it a convenient food alternative, even in countries without this tradition. The aim of the study was to evaluate hygiene conditions and practices in selected street food facilities in Poland. The study was carried out in accordance with an observation checklist developed on the basis of the hygienic requirements of the European Union. The study covered 550 randomly selected street food vendors in Poland in 10 cities. The hygiene of street food outlets was assessed in three aspects: ensuring proper production conditions, hygiene of production and distribution, and hygiene of personnel. The evaluation of street food outlets showed that the level of hygiene was not fully acceptable. A small percentage of the examined objects satisfactorily fulfilled the requirements of the production conditions, production and distribution hygiene, and staff hygiene. The proposed hygienic checklist for quick daily monitoring of street food outlets can be used to perform internal and external inspections. It seems that specific codes of conduct for European street foods facilities are necessary.