Street Food
African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 8 (24), pp. 6967-6971, 15 December, 2009 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB ISSN 1684–5315 © 2009 Academic Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Food safety knowledge and practices of street foodvendors in Atbara City (Naher Elneel State Sudan)
M. A. Abdalla, S. E. Suliman and A. O. Bakhiet*
College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, Sudan University of Science and Technology P.O. Box 204, Khartoum North, Sudan.
Accepted 22 September, 2009
The study was conducted to evaluate the food safety knowledge and practices of street food vendors in Atbara city between March and April, 2008. The questionnaires respondents were 28% male and 72% were female, 48% of them had primary school education while 42% were illiterates. The most prevalent isolated bacteria from cooked meals, bottled drink and fresh juice were; Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus auerus and Bacillus sp. The viable bacterial counts were 4.6 CFU/ml, 3.7 CFU/ml and 4.1 CFU/ml for cooked meals, bottled drink and juice, respectively. Key words: Street, food, vendors. INTRODUCTION The term "street food" refers to a wide variety of ready-toeat foods and beverages sold and sometimes prepared, in public places. Street food may be consumed where it was purchased or can be taken away and eaten elsewhere (WHO, 1996). The established food safety knowhow among the surveyed street food vendors regarding food contamination, types and symptoms of food diseases was significant since several pathogenic microorganisms had also been isolated from many street vended foods (Omemu et al., 2005). According to WHO (1989), food handling personnel play important role in ensuring food safety throughout the chain of food production and storage. Mishandling and disregard of hygienic measures on the part of the food vendors may enable pathogenic bacteria to come into contact with and in some cases survive and multiply in sufficient numbers to cause illness in
Full Length Research Paper
Food safety knowledge and practices of street foodvendors in Atbara City (Naher Elneel State Sudan)
M. A. Abdalla, S. E. Suliman and A. O. Bakhiet*
College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, Sudan University of Science and Technology P.O. Box 204, Khartoum North, Sudan.
Accepted 22 September, 2009
The study was conducted to evaluate the food safety knowledge and practices of street food vendors in Atbara city between March and April, 2008. The questionnaires respondents were 28% male and 72% were female, 48% of them had primary school education while 42% were illiterates. The most prevalent isolated bacteria from cooked meals, bottled drink and fresh juice were; Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus auerus and Bacillus sp. The viable bacterial counts were 4.6 CFU/ml, 3.7 CFU/ml and 4.1 CFU/ml for cooked meals, bottled drink and juice, respectively. Key words: Street, food, vendors. INTRODUCTION The term "street food" refers to a wide variety of ready-toeat foods and beverages sold and sometimes prepared, in public places. Street food may be consumed where it was purchased or can be taken away and eaten elsewhere (WHO, 1996). The established food safety knowhow among the surveyed street food vendors regarding food contamination, types and symptoms of food diseases was significant since several pathogenic microorganisms had also been isolated from many street vended foods (Omemu et al., 2005). According to WHO (1989), food handling personnel play important role in ensuring food safety throughout the chain of food production and storage. Mishandling and disregard of hygienic measures on the part of the food vendors may enable pathogenic bacteria to come into contact with and in some cases survive and multiply in sufficient numbers to cause illness in
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