Exploring the Microbiological Quality of Street Food in Dessie Town, Ethiopia: Insights into Vendor Safety Practices, Knowledge, and Attitudes

Street food is a big part of life in many towns, like Dessie, where women make up a large number of vendors. This trend isn’t just local; studies from places like Accra, Ghana, and Gondar also show that many street food vendors are women. Often, this is because society sees them as responsible for cooking and meal preparation.

In Dessie, most vendors have at least finished high school. This pattern is common in other countries too, like Kenya and Uganda. However, limited education often leads to poor food safety practices. For instance, a survey revealed that about 32% of vendors didn’t know about the risks of foodborne illnesses. Many also didn’t realize that using gloves can help prevent contamination while handling food.

A major concern is hygiene. Over half of the vendors were noted to skip handwashing after handling money, which can transfer germs to food. The World Health Organization stresses that germs from hands can contaminate food, especially when vendors serve food barehanded. Surprisingly, vendors often don’t use any protective gear when serving customers, which places food at risk at multiple stages — preparation, handling, and selling.

Good personal hygiene is vital. Unfortunately, many vendors lacked basic hygiene measures. For example, they often wore jewelry that wasn’t covered and failed to clean their stalls properly. Compare this to a study in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, where food handlers were rated much higher on safety practices. In Dessie, a significant number of vendors left food items exposed, making them vulnerable to contamination.

Location factors also play a role. Many stalls don’t have protection from elements like dust or pests, which can introduce harmful bacteria into the food. In fact, studies from Jimma, Ethiopia, and Nairobi, Kenya, indicate a similar lack of hygiene in street food practices. When there’s no clean water available for washing hands or utensils, food safety suffers significantly.

Hygiene conditions around stalls were concerning, with nearly 60% of them deemed unacceptable. This echoes findings from Kenya, where many vendors lacked proper waste disposal options, resulting in trash being left near food preparation areas. Flies can be carriers of bacteria, raising the risk of foodborne illnesses.

When it comes to the utensils used by vendors, about half were uncovered and at risk of contamination. Cleaning methods were also poor, as vendors reused the same water multiple times to rinse utensils, increasing the chance of spreading germs.

The microbiological quality of street foods in Dessie showed high levels of bacteria, with counts indicating serious health risks. For example, the presence of Staphylococci and Salmonella can lead to severe food poisoning. Interestingly, many of the bachelor bacteria found show resilience against several antibiotics, making treatment more challenging.

Overall, the findings highlight a serious public health issue. Poor hygiene, along with inadequate food handling practices, significantly raises the risk of foodborne illness in street vendors. Better training and stricter safety protocols are essential to improve these conditions, ultimately benefiting both vendors and consumers alike.

For those interested in more details about food safety standards, you can explore guidelines offered by the FAO here.

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Diseases,Health care,Microbiology,Food safety practices,Microbiological quality,Street foods items,Street food vendors,Vending environments,Science,Humanities and Social Sciences,multidisciplinary