Short communicationMicrobiological contamination and evaluation of sanitary conditions of hot dog street vendors in Southern Brazil

•Microbiological quality of hot dogs sold in Southern Brazil were inadequate.•Hygiene conditions were rated as regular to extremely poor.•Checklist application showed inadequacy of most items as use of non-potable water.•It was habitual cross contamination and lack of time and temperature controls.•It is recommendable designation of responsible person for checking GHP application.

The consumption of street-food is a common habit worldwide and during the last years has grown substantially in Brazil. However, hygienic conditions are frequently not ideal, and may result in microbial contamination and foodborne diseases. In this study, the microbiological quality and sanitary conditions of hot dog vendors of Southern Brazil were evaluated. Hot dog samples (n = 20) were analysed for total and fecal coliforms and coagulase-positive staphylococci. The sanitary conditions of vendors were analysed using a questionnaire composed by five blocks of questions focusing on food handlers, installations and equipment, raw materials and ingredients, storage and preparation of food, and documents. Results demonstrated that 75% of the hot dogs were contaminated with total coliforms, 30% of them presented fecal coliforms while 25% coagulase-positive staphylococci levels above the maximum limit permitted by Brazilian regulations. Questionnaire results demonstrated that the majority of vendors defrosted sausages at environmental temperature or inadequate cooling. Not one of vendors had a thermometer and several of them used non-potable water. Other frequent unconformities were the lack of cross contamination preventive measures, lack of time and temperature controls and the use of ingredients with unknown origins. Therefore, the hygienic and sanitary conditions of hot dog vendors in Southern Brazil were not adequate, indicating a health risk to consumers.