Food safety knowledge and practices of street food handlers for designing training module- a needs assessment study

A targeted food safety training program for street food handlers is very essential to provide safe food for consumers. An in-depth assessment of knowledge and specific food safety practices of vendors is a prerequisite for incorporating a novel approach in training programs. The present study is a cross-sectional study conducted on 400 street food vendors (Panipuri-150, Bhelpuri-150, Fruit juice vendors-50, Chinese fast food-50) in south Indian city-Hyderabad, by stratified random sampling technique from 5 zones. A validated pre-tested questionnaire was administered by interview mode, and practices were recorded through the observational checklist. Scores have been allotted for a knowledge-based questionnaire with 18 items of which 5 are exclusive on knowledge and 13 questions on knowledge and subsequent practices recorded via observation checklist with different weights. Among all the street vendors, panipuri vendors (20.5±1.94) secured high scores and bhelpuri vendors (14.04±1.20) secured the least scores for knowledge whereas practice scores were relatively the same for all types of vendors. The average percentage for knowledge (17.40±3.56) scores was 68.1% and for practices (8.28±2.54) 38% for all the vendors. Very few vendors know the importance of practices like separating raw from cooked foods (22%), cooking food thoroughly (21.7%), and safe storage of cooked food (8.5%). Only about 13.7% of vendors thought that it is important to use soap for washing hands and only 4 % of the vendors practiced. The present study helps in identifying knowledge and knowledge-practice gaps in street food vendors for developing targeted food safety training programs.