Street Vended Foods: Potential for Improving Food and Nutrition Security or a Risk Factor for Foodborne Diseases in Developing Countries?

Street food selling is largely an informal nature of enterprise which is a common practice all over the world. In the third world countries, this normally unregulated practice is mainly used in solving socio-economic shortcomings through the provision of ready-to-eat meals at affordable prices as well as a means of providing employment. Street vended foods are readily available in many forms that the consumers can choose from, depending on their tastes and preferences, and also their affordability. Due to this, these foods, in one way or another, and directly and indirectly, can significantly influence human nutrition, food security and safety. Current literature indicates that increased consumption of street vended foods can immensely contribute to provision of nutrients and availability of food to millions of people worldwide. Of greatest importance in the current developments in street foods is the fact that they have been identified as probable means for micronutrient fortification in an effort to prevent nutritional deficiency diseases. These foods though, have potential risks to the consumers in terms of food safety issues linked to them. In the developing countries for instance, they are usually prepared under unhygienic conditions with little or no regard to food hygiene, a situation that often exposes the consumers to microbiological and chemical hazards that can have detrimental health effects in their lives. There is therefore an urgent need to promote food safety practices in the production and consumption of street vended foods, particularly in the developing countries where levels of hygiene standards are questionable, in order to ensure that the health of the consumers is safeguarded, and at the same time ensuring provision of nutritious, healthy and affordable foods that are easily accessible to all.