Mbombo-Dweba Tulisiwe P, Mbajiorgu Christian A, Oguttu James W
Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
Ital J Food Saf. 2022 Jul 4;11(2):9885. doi: 10.4081/ijfs.2022.9885. eCollection 2022 Jun 21.
Demand for ethnic foods by the immigrant population has led to proliferation of ethnic food shops (shops selling foods eaten by different ethnic groups). However, the status of the food hygiene practices among these vendors is unknown. This study investigated food hygiene practices among informal ethnic food vendors in Gauteng Province (GP), South Africa. Participants included immigrants managing informal ethnic food shops in GP. Snowball sampling was used to identify participants (n=40). A questionnaire/checklist was used to collect information on hygiene practices. Although majority of ethnic food shops (95%; n=38) operated in permanent structures, just over half (55%; n=22) of these facilities had windows. The remaining 5% (n=2) of the vendors operated from the boot/trunk of cars. None of the participants had a food probe used to monitor the temperature of food. Most of the participants (65%; n=26) did not own freezers, and just above half (55%, n=22) had microwave ovens. Majority (95%; n=38) of the respondents had access to toilet facilities and tap water at their premises. Only two (5%; n=2) respondents brought water from home, and these used public toilets at shopping centers in the vicinity of their businesses. Majority (72.5%; n=29) of the respondents were not aware of the importance of keeping food above 65˚C. Slightly over half (55%, n=22) of the respondents did not reheat the food before serving, and only 10 % (n=4) followed proper food reheating procedures. Poor food hygiene practices and lack of appropriate food handling equipment and facilities are common among ethnic food vendors. The widespread lack of awareness of the importance of holding food above 65˚C, and the high prevalence of not reheating the food before serving, and not following proper food reheating procedures, are a major source of concern as these practices are potentially associated with promoting food contamination with foodborne diseasecausing organisms. It is envisaged that findings reported here can guide policy makers to design policies that promote selling safe food by ethnic food vendors. To enhance compliance, it is recommended that such policies should be user friendly to the operators of informal ethnic food shops.
移民群体对民族特色食品的需求促使民族特色食品店（销售不同民族食用食品的店铺）大量涌现。然而，这些摊贩的食品卫生状况尚不清楚。本研究调查了南非豪登省（GP）非正式民族特色食品摊贩的食品卫生状况。参与者包括在GP经营非正式民族特色食品店的移民。采用滚雪球抽样法确定参与者（n = 40）。使用问卷/清单收集卫生习惯方面的信息。尽管大多数民族特色食品店（95%；n = 38）在固定场所经营，但其中只有略超过一半（55%；n = 22）的店铺有窗户。其余5%（n = 2）的摊贩在汽车后备箱经营。没有参与者拥有用于监测食品温度的食品探针。大多数参与者（65%；n = 26）没有冰柜，略超过一半（55%，n = 22）有微波炉。大多数（95%；n = 38）受访者在其经营场所可使用厕所设施和自来水。只有两名（5%；n = 2）受访者从家中带水，他们使用其经营场所附近购物中心的公共厕所。大多数（72.5%；n = 29）受访者不知道将食品保持在65˚C以上的重要性。略超过一半（55%，n = 22）的受访者在供应食品前不重新加热，只有10%（n = 4）遵循适当的食品重新加热程序。民族特色食品摊贩普遍存在食品卫生习惯差以及缺乏适当的食品处理设备和设施的问题。普遍缺乏对将食品保持在65˚C以上重要性的认识，供应食品前不重新加热以及不遵循适当食品重新加热程序的高发生率令人担忧，因为这些做法可能会促进食源性病原体对食品的污染。预计此处报告的研究结果可指导政策制定者制定促进民族特色食品摊贩销售安全食品的政策。为提高合规性，建议此类政策应方便非正式民族特色食品店经营者使用。
