davaofoodsafety-blog

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Eating food from street vendors has its pros and cons. Customers could have a bad experience if the food is spoiled. Moreover, it’s often unsafe to eat on the street when the traffic is heavy. On the other hand, street vendors supply food we like at an acceptable cost related to our living standard. Even though I’m one of those people who eat food on the street, I strongly agree that it can have disadvantages. Hygiene is often an issue if the dishes and tools the vendor is using are dirty. In addition, because of the competition among street vendors, some of them have to sell out-of-date food such as re-heated chicken wings. These factors can certainly have an effect on customers’ health. One big advantage of eating food from street stalls is that it’s cheap, so anyone can afford it. But it can have many disadvantages, such as dust and dirt from the road, flies all over the food, the disorganised state of the stalls and messy plates. And when you eat something that is cheap, other people will sometimes look down on you. Eating food along the street has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that it’s usually delicious, it’s cheap, and it’s easy to find. On the other side of the coin, diarrhoea, vomiting and other illnesses can result from eating street food. Sometimes food for sale along the street doesn’t contain a virus but becomes contaminated by dirt from the road. In my opinion, eating street food can have some negative aspects such as a lack of cleanliness, but that applies only to some sellers. As a street vendor, make sure to prepare food properly, and that the service provide is acceptable to customers. The prices charge must also be suitable for my customers.

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Is street food safe to eat?

This subject has come up several times before with no real conclusions. However, a local food program last week on cable TV did a test on the 10 most popular street foods including sisig, buko juice, banana Q and taho.<

A microbiologist found that the only safe street food was Banana Q due to the high temparature used in cooking which killed any nasty bacteria.

All the others failed mainly through presence of fecal matter. Part of the problem was lack of food safety knowledge by the vendors and/or unsavory practices. You may have seen blocks of ice being dragged through the streets!

More information is available on suite101.com/content/safety-tips-for-eating

But for safety’s sake, if you do want to try street food, I suggest you stick to Banana Q and bottled water or soft drink and hotel staff, as well as most other people, will be blissfully unaware of which street sellers are safe

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Street food’s cleanliness

You’ll find street food snacks all over the Philippines,  you can’t walk more than a few meters in many areas of town without seeing something being served. However, you do have to choose wisely the street food you decide to eat. Some of the street food is not always too fresh looking or hygienic. So try to choose street food that appears to be fresh, and that has a high turnover rate, and be more cautious with street foods that use water or ice in the preparation. That being said I’ve been to the Philippines a number of times, and eaten plenty of street food and never had a problem. The best places to eat street food in Davao, in my opinion are both local markets, and really local neighborhood streets. Roxas night market, , is a great places to start, and you’ll find an abundance of Filipino street food to try.

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Street Foods: Are they safe to eat?

Street foods are everywhere – so common that they blend into the urban scene and are not really noticed.  They are available around factories, offices, schools and universities, transit points and markets.  With more people joining the labor force and working away from home, street foods are the most access source of nutrition.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), some 2.5 billion people around the world eating street foods every day.  “Many people lack proper housing and cooking facilities,” explains economic journalist Ian Steele as to why the street food industry is proliferating, particularly in Asia.  “With increasing costs and the difficulty of procuring fuel, the only immediate alternative is to turn to street foods.  As more women work outside the home, there is less time for cooking.”

Thus, street foods provide a convenient source of nourishment.  In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, almost 25 percent of household expenditure is spent on street foods.  In Bangkok, Thailand, 90 percent of the people eat most of their meals outside their homes.

In the Philippines, street food is more than just a convenient food source; in fact, it is an integral part of the landscape and culture.  Filipinos are known to enjoy the average three meals a day plus merienda (snacks).  Those living in industrialized countries like the United States, Australia, and United Kingdom, may prefer dining and eating pizzas when hunger pangs strike. Filipinos, on the other hand, race to the streets to satisfy their hunger for their favorite street foods for a few pesos.

“Among the lower income groups in several developing countries, 50 to 70 percent of household earnings are spent on street foods,” Steele reports.  But some rich people are also doing so: “Studies have shown that even the rich visit street food vendors, sometimes for a special and popular type of meal prepared by a particular vendor.”

The term “street foods” describes a wide range of ready-to-eat foods and beverages sold and sometimes prepared in public places, notably streets.  Like fast foods, the final preparation of street foods occurs when the customer orders the meal which can be consumed where it is purchased or taken away.

Street foods and fast foods are low in cost compared with restaurant meals and offer an attractive alternative to home-cooked food.  In spite of these similarities, street food and fast food enterprises differ in variety, environment, marketing techniques and ownership.

“The image most people have of street foods is that of a mobile vendor pushing a cart,” says Irene Tinker, director of the US-based Equity Policy Center, which made an extensive study on street foods in developing countries.  “In fact, few vendors are truly mobile.  Even those with carts usually roll to their site early in the morning and stay all day.  Such vendors feel they have the right to sell at the space, and will fight someone intruding.  If they retire, they may even ‘sell’ the use rights!  Other vendors park their carts outside schools at midday and near markets in the evenings.”

As for women who carry baskets of food, they move from one place to another, balancing the baskets on their heads.  On the other hand, men may shoulder balance a bamboo pole with food on one side, stools on the other for the customers to use as they eat.  “Even such vendors tend to stop at a few set locations each day, or walk a definite route.  After all, customers like to buy from a vendor they know and trust,” Tinker points out.

There are many types of foods sold in the street.  In the Philippines, certain favorites are: kwek-kwek (made of quail eggs covered in orange dough and deep fried), isaw (chicken intestine put on a stick and grilled), fish balls (minced fish rolled into balls), balut (pre-hatched duck egg), betamax (a cubed, curdled blood of a chicken), adidas (the marinated grilled chicken’s feet), atay (marinated and barbequed liver of chicken), and helmet (the grilled head of a chicken).

Other fillers of hungry stomachs are: maruya (a combination of bananas and flour, deep fried until golden brown), kikiam (made of ground pork and vegetables wrapped in bean curd sheets then deep-fried until golden), calamares (deep-fried battered squid rings), mais (corn on a cob, but it could also be salted boiled corn), and green mango with bagoong (unripe mango on a stick with a salty, fermented sauce or paste made from small shrimps or fish).

For drinks, the following are common: buko juice (coconut juice that can be drunk directly from the buko itself), iskrambol (a simple shake with artificial flavors), and sago and gulaman (a refreshingly cold drink made out of tapioca and jelly).

Wherever they are in the world, Filipinos who have tried these street foods clamor for them.  One Filipino now living abroad revealed: “I miss the Philippines and I love street foods.  I miss those moments when my sisters and I would go to the stalls in the street and ate those street foods together.”

Now the inevitable question: Are street foods safe to eat?  “Food safety is a major concern of customers,” Tinker says.  But in Senegal, 200 people died following food intoxication after eating street foods.  At one time, cholera outbreak happened in India and was attributed to sugarcane juice peddled by the sidewalks.  In Metro Manila, there was once a surge in gastrointestinal diseases, which were caused mainly by eating dirty sidewalk foods.

“With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism, the safety of street food has become one of the major concerns of public health, and a focus for governments and scientists to raise public awareness,” the World Health Organization urges.

“(Street) food per se is not dangerous, improper food handling is.” That was what Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said when asked if total ban of street food in the city is possible.

Davao City was one of the four identified areas in the country where food sold on the street is not safe to eat.  According to a study by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Center for International Migration and Development, food samples taken from various streets in the city did not pass quality standards.

The lady mayor clarified that even before the DOST conducted its study, the government has been constantly monitoring the safety of street food.  “We have distributed carts that are ideal for street food cooking and display, vendors use hair nets, go thorough food handling seminar and get ID from City Health Office,” she said.

Aside from Davao, the other areas identified by the study were Cagayan de Oro, Laguna and University of the Philippines Diliman campus in Quezon City.

The Food and Nutrition Research Institute, a line agency of DOST, warned the public that street food stalls do not pass the same process as certified food establishments.  Although the institute is not discouraging street food vendors from selling their products, it suggested that vendors undergo training in food handling to ensure safety.

“The risk of serious food poisoning outbreaks linked to street foods remains a threat in many parts of the world,” FAO said. “A lack of knowledge among street food vendors about the causes of food-borne disease is a major risk factor.”

Eating street foods may be cheap, but there are also dangers that can cause health problems. There was this case of a woman in her forties who suffered vomiting, scarred skin and muscle pains after eating calamares.   A series of laboratory tests conducted by the Bureau of Food and Drugs found out that there was a huge amount of formalin, a form of formaldehyde (a preservative) in the imported frozen squids.  The contaminated calamares caused the adverse effects in the woman’s body that circulated through her blood.

Whether street food is safe to eat or not, it is most likely here to stay.  After all, the million multi-million dollar industry employs millions of people in Asia. In Bogor, Indonesia, for instance, annual sales of street foods amount to US$67 million. If one computes the average daily sales of the 100, 000 stalls in Malaysia, annual street food sales amount to US$2.2 billion.

“The significance of the street food industry has often been ignored because it is considered part of the informal sector,” a position paper said.  “Previously, the informal sector was thought to symbolize a lack of economic development that would and should disappear with modernization. Until more permanent jobs could be provided by the modern sector, the former was expected to absorb unskilled workers who migrated to the city from rural areas.”

http://edgedavao.net/the-economy/2012/04/27/street-foods-are-they-safe-to-eat/

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Sreet Food Cleanliness

Street food is popular to the country of Philippines. It is one of the simple and small business of the vendor's to gain profit. Because it is affordable,easy,to prepare cook and most importantly it is not difficult to find. Street food can be seen anywhere but the question is ? it is good to our health ? is it healthy ?. Well from our own experience there are some cases that it is safe? because it was prepared well. But majority of us believe that it is not safe to our health. In style of preparing of the food sometimes they did not notice and do not know on how to prepare this very well, as long as they gain profit,it is one of their important goal. So that as a customer you must know the vendor very well when it comes to his or her product to avoid illnesses. It is important for you as a customer to become wise when it comes to your health because prevention is better than cure. Be familiarize when you are eating food sabi nga nila 'lahat ng sobra masama" hindi sa tinatakot namin kayong kumain ng street food, but we need to consider our health. We are free to eat what ever we want as long as we know our own limitation because it may turn to bad. We create this campaign to inform all the reader's hindi para takutin but the fact na malaman ang katotohanan at epekto ng pagkain ng street food sa ating katawan. We need to become careful to the foods that we want to eat but not only for the food but also to the other things ?. Because if we are addicted in eating street food it may cause some illnesses like diarrhea,hepatitis and many others because it is not safe. At sa tingin namin some vendor's did not prioritize their products lalo na kapag maraming customer hindi nila namamalayan na may mga dumadapo na pa lang insekto. So we advice everyone to careful,be wise at maging mapili sa lahat ng kakainin because health is wealth. Sa panahon ngayon mahirap ng magkasakit lalo na kapag walang pera. Its better to become wise than to become careless.

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All about Philippine street food, safety & nutrition

     Street food is convenient, fast, easy, uncomplicated, and cheap. So are street hookers. Caveat emptor. Buyer beware! Unless you want to gamble with your well-being you shouldn’t play in the street. You don’t stick your tongues or dicks just anywhere, so if you don’t know where it’s been, should you stuff it in your mouth? Pinoy streetfood is a huge part of our culinary culture, a showcase of how we Filipinos can squeeze fun and flavor from the unlikeliest and least palatable ingredients. Street food is both pop art and comfort food in one portable package, pushed around on wheels or carried on backs. Street foods are consumed by an estimated two and a half billion people world-wide. The street food business is a billion peso industry and a major driver of the underground economy. Thousands rely on it for their livelihood. Properly regulated, it has enormous potential. Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have all managed to promote their street food to tourists as tasty and healthy gastronomic adventures. Why can’t we seem to reach their standards?

      Many street food handlers may use ingredients that are of dubious quality. They may observe faulty food preparation and handling practices, and work in facilities that lack the minimum sanitation standards. They may use recycled cooking oil. They may not use hair nets nor do they wash their hands prior to food handling/preparation. The food, containers and utensils may be improperly stored or freely exposed to dirt, smoke, flies. These practices can promote bacterial overgrowth and contamination, increasing the hazards for the consumer.

      Moreover, some vendors have indiscriminately adapted “modern” techniques to counteract some of the shortcomings in their food hygiene. They use nitrites and nitrates, unauthorized dyes and cooking oils, and insecticides. Beware of food products free of flies in areas where flies are plentiful.  Such items may be sprayed with insecticides.

text by Jude Defensor, some rights reserved. first published in Men’s Health Philippines magazine, 2006

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Safeness of Street Food

Street foods are very well patronized in many developing countries since they are affordable, easily accessible and also serve as an important source of income. However, these street foods largely do not meet proper hygienic standards and can therefore lead to morbidity and mortality due to food borne illnesses, and concomitant effects on trade and development. Food-borne illnesses are a growing public health concern worldwide and results from food contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms, mycotoxins or chemical hazards. This concern is heightened by the fact that, worldwide, there seems to be a change in life-style and food consumption patterns as frequency of “eating out” is increasing and commitment to food preparation at home is decreasing. The number of reported outbreaks of food-borne illnesses has been high, both in developed as well as developing countries. However, the problem is exacerbated in developing countries due to economic reasons, poverty, the lack of adequate health care facilities, and the dearth of data regarding food-borne diseases. Food vendors may contaminate food by poor personal hygiene, cross-contaminating raw and processed food, as well as inadequate cooking and improper storage of food. Maintaining high food safety levels in school food services is very important because any incidences can affect a high number of students

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302301/

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Street Food is very popular in the Philippines and is considered the best food for anyone who wants to be full without spending a lot of money. Street food are sold at a very low price and is delicious and it also comes in different varieties for example are fried or grilled isaw , kwek-kwek , pizza roll and many more. Street food are clean or is good food , but they aren’t always clean though they are fried or grilled in front of you, some of them aren’t really clean thoroughly specially when the place isn’t tidy enough and the vendor/s looks lazy or tired which sometimes mean that they didn’t actually clean the food properly. Street food in the philippines is very popular and I know some people who would choose smokey and crowded palaces where the street food are than high class and costly meals. Though they are clean and delicious, it isn’t good for anyone to always eat street foods because it is bad for your health and the untidy place can also bring harmful viruses or bacteria and also because they are a lot of people who just come and go and you just never really know who has who (illness). Street foods are the best for anyone who just wants to eat without costing a lot of money , but it isn’t healthy to always eat food that are on the side of the streets. Eating once in a while is great and also it can bring joy to you and your companion but eating everyday isn’t healthy anymore and can give you serious illnesses.

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Street Food Safety

Food Safety is the assurance/guarantee that food will not cause harm to the consumers when it is prepared and/or eaten according to its intended use.

 Food and Water-borne Diseases Is a group of illness caused by any infectious (bacteria, viruses and parasites) and non-infectious agents (chemical, animal and plant toxins).

 Common Causes of Food and Water Borne Diseases

 ¨ unsafe sources of drinkng water

 ¨ improper disposal of human waste

 ¨ unhygienic practices like spitting anywhere, blowing or picking the nose

 ¨ unsafe food handling and preparation practices i.e. street vended foods

 Five Keys to Safer Food (Source: WHO) 

 1. Keep Clean. 

2. Separate raw and cooked foods. 

3. Cook foods thoroughly. 

4. Keep food at safe temperatures. 

5. Use safe water and raw materials. 

In case of Suspected Foodborne Illnesses 

 1. Preserve the evidence. If a portion of the suspected food is available, wrap it securely “danger” and freeze it. 

2. Seek treatment as necessary. If symptoms persists or are severe (i.e. bloody diarrhea, excessive nausea and vomiting or high temperature), immediately consult a doctor. 

3. Report the incidence to the local health department.

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Is street food safe to eat?

This subject has come up several times before with no real conclusions. However, a local food program last week on cable TV did a test on the 10 most popular street foods including sisig, buko juice, banana Q and taho. A microbiologist found that the only safe street food was Banana Q due to the high temparature used in cooking which killed any nasty bacteria. All the others failed mainly through presence of fecal matter. Part of the problem was lack of food safety knowledge by the vendors and/or unsavory practices. You may have seen blocks of ice being dragged through the streets! More information is available on suite101.com/content/safety-tips-for-eating-… But for safety's sake, if you do want to try street food, I suggest you stick to Banana Q and bottled water or soft drink and hotel staff, as well as most other people, will be blissfully unaware of which street sellers are safe!