Food Safety Forewarning: Food Safety and Hygiene practices of Food Handlers: A case study of Delhi street food vendors

Transcription

1 Food Safety Forewarning: Food Safety and Hygiene practices of Food Handlers: A case study of Delhi street food vendors Dr Eram S Rao CII 10th Food Safety and Quality Summit Master Classes on Innovative Tools and Techniques for Food safety Forewarning December 2, 2015

2 Definition of Street Foods Food and Agriculture Organization defines street foods as ready to eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors and hawkers in streets and other public places for immediate consumption without further processing. (FAO,1988)

3 A National Policy on Urban Street Vendors was brought out by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in 2009, which recognizes the positive role of street vendors in providing essential commodities to people at affordable prices at convenient places. The policy also reiterates that street vendors constitute an integral and legitimate part of the retail (food) trade and distribution system.

4 Facts and Figures According to FAO 2.5 million people eat street food daily. In India, 2-2.5% of the city population constitute of street vendors (Chakravarty & Canet 1996). There are about 10 million vendors in the country. Delhi has 3.5 lac vendors out of which 2,00,000 street food vendors. Women constitute 30%.(Bhowmik, 2005)

5 Street Foods are appreciated for their taste, flavor, affordability and convenience

6 Social significance of street foods Provides nutritional security to the poor. An average 500g meal- 20 to 30 g of protein, 12 to 15 g of fat and 174 to 183 g of carbohydrate and approximately 1,000 kcal Opportunity for self-employment and develop entrepreneur skills with low capital investment. Informal food sector can contribute to food security by providing affordable food to the urban and rural poor. Source - FAO Technical Cooperation Programme in 1993 (Chakravarty and C. Canet)

7 Popularity of Street Food amongst Delhites

8 Street Food Safety concerns? Street foods are perceived to be a major public health risk. Due to lack of basic infrastructure and services. Poor knowledge of street vendors in basic food safety measures. Lack of public awareness of food hazards by the consumers. People, who patronize street food, have been reported to suffer from food borne diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid fever and food poisoning. It is a well-known fact that most food- borne diseases, if not all, can be prevented by applying the basic principles of food hygiene throughout the food chain.

9 Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 Mandatory for all the FBO s to register by FSSAI. The Food Business Operators (FBO s) are held responsible for the supply of safe food to the consumers. They shall follow the basic hygiene and safety requirements provided in Part I of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses), Regulations 2011

10 Methodology This was a cross sectional study conducted amongst the street food vendors of Delhi, India. A sample of 587 street food vendors was contacted during the study by convenient sampling from all the five zones of Delhi. Mixed approach i.e. quantitative and qualitative methodology was adopted to collect the data. Pre tested questionnaire based on Part I schedule 4 of FSSAI, 2011 was used to record the responses of participants and observation approach was adopted to assess the hygiene practices of participants and hygienic status of the vending site.

11 Delhi Street Food Markets Surveyed Chandni Chawk Karol Bagh Sarojini Nagar Janakpuri Tilak Nagar Possangipur INA Market

12 Educational Status Illeterate 10th class 12th class Graduate

13 Location and vicinity of vending stall The vending stall should be located in a sanitary place away from unhygienic conditions and should be far from any source of contamination garbage, waste water, open drains, toilet facilities and animals) 58% vendors had unhygienic location out of the total 587 surveyed 42% had good sanitary conditions at the site.

14 Vending cart The vending carts shall be built of solid, rust/ corrosion resistant materials and kept in clean and good condition. Vending cart shall be protected from sun, wind and dust and when not in use, food vending vans shall be kept in clean place and properly protected. The working surfaces of vending carts shall be hygienic, impermeable, easy to clean, 60-70cm from ground. Sale points, tables, awnings, benches, boxes, cupboards, glass cases etc shall be clean and tidy.

15 Vending cart material Question 2.) any other Fiber wood steel Question 2.) Total-587 steel wood Fiber Total no. of street vendors any other 65

16 FSSA, 2006 Regulation on Water Use of potable drinking water, (boiled/ filtered water through water purifier etc.) shall be in protected containers of at least 20 litre

17 Water Storage by Delhi Food Vendors Total no. of street vendors closed protected container Open containers Question 4.) none

18 Total no. of street vendors Source of water in Delhi potaba ble drinki ng water 313 un filtere d stored Any/N. w. A. Question 3(a) jal board boring any other Question 3(b)

19 Water Supply and Sanitation Facts: In Delhi, Yamuna is the main source of water supply 80-90% of untreated sewage is discharged directly into it (Tibbets, 2000) 20 million litres of industrial effluents are discharged. The coliform count increases 3000 fold from the time it enters the city to the time it leaves. Source: CPCB

20 Cooking and serving utensils Cooking utensils and crockery should be thoroughly washed with potable water before preparation or selling.

21 Total no. of street vendors Water used for washing utensils stored potable water raw water tap water Question 5.) any other Question 5.) stored potable water 221 raw water 115 tap water 224 any other 27

22 Total no. of street vendors Clean Cloth Unclean Cloth Question 8.) Clean Cloth 207 Do not wipe clean it Question 8.) Unclean Cloth 237 Do not wipe clean it 143 Method used for drying the utensils 41% use unclean cloth 35% clean cloth and 24% do not wipe

23 Total no. of street vendors Storing of washed utensils feet above the ground On ground directly Question 9.) 2 feet above the ground Total leave it for next morning Question 9.) On ground directly 148 leave it for next morning 53

24 Question 7(b) Question 7(a) Condition of cooking and serving utensils Clean Unclean Good Condition Chipped Broken Total no. of street vendors 400 Question 7(a) Broken Chipped Question 7(b) Good Unclean Condition Clean 336

25 Types of cooking / serving utensils 400 Total no. of street vendors S. Steel 328 Alumini Copper um Question 6(a) Any other 108 Dis. Plate Steel Any other Question 6(b)

26 Total no. of sreet vendors Yes No Question 10.) Question 10.) Yes 172 No 415 Feed the left over s to the pets at the same place Yes 29% No- 71%

27 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 street vendors may enable pathogenic bacteria to come into contact and in some cases survive and multiply in sufficient numbers to cause illness in the consumer

28 Keeping hot food hot and cold food cold Bacteria die Avoid keeping food in the temperature danger zone of 5 C - 60 C Bacteria grow Bacteria stop growing

29 Knowledge, Attitude and Hygiene practices of Food Handlers Washing hands with soap and water before handling food? Storage of Cooked Food Total no. of street vendors Total no. of street vendors covered uncovered 368 Question 11.) 193 Low temp. Cabinates 26 0 Always 286 sometimes Question 12.) 222 Never 79

30 Personal Hygiene of Food vendors Question 15.) Poor Fair Good 0 Total Good Question 15.) Fair 325 Total no. of street vendors Poor 128

31 Use of rings, wrist bands etc. Use of Paan, tobacco, bidi etc Total no. of street vendors Total no. of street vendors None 249 Finger Waist rings bands Question 13.) Jewellery Yes No Question 14.)

32 Use of head gear, gloves and aprons? Total no. of street vendors Yes Question 20.) No Question 20.) Yes 116 No 471

33 Using bare hands?

34 Preparation of food while suffering from illness Total no. of street vendors Yes No Question 18.) Question 18.) Yes 233 No 354

35 Vendor with skin disease Unsafe cylinder used for cooking

36 Washing hands with soap and water after using toilet? Question 19.) Never Always Sometime Sometime 178 Question 19.) Always 331 Total no. of street vendors Never 78

37 Challenges

38 Street-vended foods and public health Lack of basic infrastructure and services, such as potable water supplies, solid waste disposal and street lighting. Difficulty in controlling the large numbers of street food vending operations because of their diversity, mobility and temporary nature. Insufficient resources for inspection and laboratory analysis. General lack of factual knowledge about the microbiological status or the precise epidemiological significance of many street-vended foods. Poor knowledge of street vendors in basic food safety measures. Inadequate public awareness of hazards posed by certain street foods.

39 Requirements of Street Food Vendors? Safe and steady water supply - Access to safe, potable and direct water supply Good Sanitation Facilities Waste disposal - Dustbins- which are regularly emptied and disinfected Drains covered and well maintained Adequate street lights Public conveniences Consumers cooperation- avoid littering, using dustbins etc

40 Drains covered / uncovered Total no. of street vendors- 587 Question 17.) Not available No Yes Question 17.) Yes No Not available 39

41 Provision of Dustbin? Question 16.) No Yes Question 16.) Yes 231 No 356 Total no. of street vendors

42 Solid Waste Management kg of solid waste is generated per capita per day in Indian cities. Over 6000 tons generated in Delhi -every day 35 million tons of municipal solid waste every year Problem? Lack of waste minimization program. Lack of safe disposal of waste Lack of technology, funds etc. Lack of public awareness- increase in health hazards

43 How safe is Street Food?

44 Urgent Need for training the Street food Vendors? Important partners in the urban food security & supply system Responsibility of FSSA - legitimacy and regulation Monitoring and quality assurance - to ensure nutritious safe quality street foods. Financial provisions Loans, credits etc Civic authorities- location, should be in a place approved, not blocking traffic or pedestrians or near unhygienic locations Ensure Public health Consumer awareness and education

45 Opportunities

46 Keen to get food cart certified for GHP Keen to adopt Good hygiene practices Total no. of street vendors Total no. of street vendors Yes No 0 Yes Question 21.) 483 No Question 22.)

47 Total no. of street vendors Registration/ licensing? Yes No Question 22.) Question 22.) Yes 441 No 146

48 The Training Program Keep surroundings clean- use dustbins etc. Maintain personal hygiene (wash hands, trim nails, hair, clothes clean and not to spit) Keep food covered, serve freshly cooked food only or store at <5 C Adopt Best practices on the use of good quality raw materials, permitted colors and cooking medium (fat/oil) Use clean water not only for cooking but also to wash utensils.*(chlorination) Personal health- during illness keep away from handling foods and raw materials. Adopt safety measures for self and general public.

49 Thank you