School of Management Engineering and Business, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan, 056038, People's Republic of China.
School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, People's Republic of China.
BMC Public Health. 2019 Aug 16;19(1):1128. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7475-9.
Food safety has long been the subject of scholarly research, and street food is a weak link in food safety supervision. Street food not only provides convenience for many people, but is also the livelihood for millions of low income people, making a great contribution to the economy of many developing countries.
Street food safety is essential, and yet it has been rarely studied in China. Therefore, a typical city in China was selected as the research object to assess food safety knowledge, attitudes, and street food suppliers and consumer behaviors using questionnaires based on previous studies, and considering China's particular characteristics and reasonable impacts identified in previous studies, such as increased income, work experience, licenses, and locations. The food safety knowledge and attitude questionnaire conformed with the national conditions in China. It was used to assess the food safety knowledge and attitudes toward food suppliers and consumers, where three main areas were addressed in the surveys and statistical analysis, as follows. (1) Statistical information including gender, age, education, income, food safety training, and specific elements related to the work experience of suppliers. (2) Knowledge of food safety including the awareness of consumers and suppliers regarding food poisoning pathogens, food and personal hygiene, high-risk groups, and correct cleaning. (3) A list of food handling behaviors was used to determine the behaviors and characteristics of subjects.
The results show that street food suppliers have generally poor food handling practices, and most are operating under unsanitary conditions. Food safety knowledge of street vendors in the High-tech Industries Development Zone was the lowest, most likely because these regions are located in rural-urban fringe zones, where education levels are generally relatively low. Food safety attitudes of the youngest consumers were significantly better than those of older age groups. Their educational level was also different, with correspondingly relatively high income for younger individuals. Most vendors chose locations near schools or supermarkets. Consumers and street food vendors had good understanding of food safety, but street vendors were relatively poor in carrying out safe food handling, with only 26.7% using or being fully equipped withhand-washing facilities, although more than 60% of vendors wore clean and tidy clothes and masks.
Street food vendor training should be prioritized to improve the safety of street food. Other policies and measures should also be propagated to improve the food safety knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of vendors in Handan. Steps should be taken to improve street food stall operating conditions and facilities, including providing clean protected structures, access to potable water, and efficient waste collection and disposal systems. These findings should encourage government agencies to further promote strategies to improve street food safety.
食品安全一直是学术研究的主题，而街头食品是食品安全监管的薄弱环节。街头食品不仅为许多人提供了便利，也是数百万低收入人群的生计来源，为许多发展中国家的经济做出了巨大贡献。
街头食品安全至关重要，但在中国却很少有研究。因此，选择了中国的一个典型城市作为研究对象，根据以往的研究，采用基于问卷的方法评估食品安全知识、态度以及街头食品供应商和消费者的行为，并考虑到中国的特殊特征和以往研究中确定的合理影响因素，如收入增加、工作经验、许可证和地点。食品安全知识和态度问卷符合中国国情。它用于评估食品供应商和消费者的食品安全知识和态度，调查和统计分析主要涉及三个方面，如下所示。（1）统计信息，包括性别、年龄、教育、收入、食品安全培训以及供应商具体工作经验相关要素。（2）食品安全知识，包括消费者和供应商对食源性致病菌、食品和个人卫生、高危人群以及正确清洁的认识。（3）列出了食品处理行为，用于确定主体的行为和特征。
结果表明，街头食品供应商的食品处理操作普遍较差，大多数操作处于不卫生条件下。高新技术产业开发区街头摊贩的食品安全知识最低，这很可能是因为这些地区位于城乡结合部，教育水平普遍较低。年龄最小的消费者的食品安全态度明显好于年龄较大的消费者。他们的教育水平也不同，相应地，年轻消费者的收入也较高。大多数摊贩选择在学校或超市附近的位置。消费者和街头食品摊贩对食品安全有很好的了解，但街头摊贩在进行安全食品处理方面相对较差，只有 26.7%的摊贩使用或完全配备了洗手设施，尽管超过 60%的摊贩穿着干净整洁的衣服和口罩。
应优先考虑对街头食品摊贩进行培训，以提高街头食品的安全性。还应宣传其他政策和措施，以提高邯郸市街头摊贩的食品安全知识、态度和行为。应采取措施改善街头食品摊位的经营条件和设施，包括提供清洁的保护结构、饮用水、以及高效的废物收集和处理系统。这些发现应鼓励政府机构进一步推动改善街头食品安全的战略。
