Urban street foods in Shijiazhuang city, China: Current status, safety practices and risk mitigating strategies

- The current status of urban street foods in Shijiazhuang city, China was studied.
- Pesticides abuse and intentional adulteration are the main factors leading to street food risk.
- Lack of regulatory capacities of inspectors contributing to street food risk.
- Implementation of effective sanitation practices and regular training to reduce risk.
- Popularizing sensory evaluation techniques to reduce food contamination and control street food safety.

Street foods often reflect traditional local cultures and offer a unique cultural experience to tourists and even to ordinary consumers. With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism, the safety of street foods has become one of the major concerns of public health. There is an urgent need, in China, to establish a national program to raise the food safety awareness and knowledge of street food vendors. The safety and hygiene status of street foods in Shijiazhuang city was investigated. Data on the street food vendors' food safety knowledge and practices, inspectors' regulatory capacity and consumers' purchasing habits were collected. Potential hazards in the preparation and sale of street foods were analyzed and strategies for ensuring the safety of street foods were recommended. The study showed that the street food safety risks are primarily due to the use of unqualified raw materials encouraged by ineffective inspections, poor infrastructure at the street food vending sites and lack of sanitation knowledge among street food vendors. In order to prevent street foods from being contaminated, more stringent and effective routine supervision and food safety practices should be adopted and the environmental conditions and facilities should be improved. Regular training in food processing technology, food safety knowledge and practical food safety evaluation methods should also be strengthened among street food vendors and food safety inspectors.