Effect of street food vendors' food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices on the microbiological quality of street foods

Abstract

The frequency of foodborne diseases is increasing due to the increased habit of eating out, including street foods. The current study aims to assess the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the street food vendors, primarily located in the tourist places of Istanbul, Türkiye, regarding the microbiological quality of street food by surveying, on-site observation, and conventional microbial evaluation. The survey data were statistically analyzed with multiple regression tests (p<.05). The results indicated that street food vendors' knowledge of food safety was insufficient, with a score of 2.67 ± 0.71 (53.4 out of 100), their attitudes at 2.56 ± 1.09 (51.2 out of 100), and their practices at 2.35 ± 1.54 (47.0 out of 100), respectively. Besides, other variables, except food safety knowledge, were significantly and linearly correlated (p <.05) with the microbiological quality. Overall, street vendors' foods manufactured with poor food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices pose a food safety risk for consumers. Hence, the legal authorities should increase the auditing and regular control frequency of street food and vendors and well-organized food safety training programs.