FOOD PREPARATION: HYGIENIC VALUE OF THE STREET FOOD

VENDORS TO THE CONSUMERS ALONG

BUNAWAN, DAVAO CITY.

An Undergraduate Research
Presented to the Faculty of Education
HOLY CROSS OF BUNAWAN, INCORPORATED

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the
ACCOUNTANCY BUSSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

Researchers

Asoque, Abeguel D.
Pascua, James Chris M.
Ruadiel, Kristine Anne C.
Trinidad, Sherina Ann N.

October 2019
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Street foods are described as ready-to-eat foods and beverages prepared

and sold by vendors or hawkers especially in streets and other similar public places

(FAO, 1989). According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), street

foods contribute significantly to the diets of many people in the developing world

(FAO, 2007). In addition to offering business opportunities for developing

entrepreneurs, the sale of street foods can make a sizeable contribution to the

economies of developing countries. Moreover, street foods play an important role

in developing societies as they support the livelihoods of millions of the urban poor.

Traditional and exotic local street foods have emerged as new tourist attractions

in developing countries.

Preparing of food should be in hygienic. Hygiene is the conditions or

practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing diseases, especially

through cleanliness. It is an attribute in every person that would easily noticed.

Proper Hygiene of the vendors and the food preparation is a big deal to all people.

Because people think about the security of their health, so that they will ask the

sellers about the cleanliness of the food that they will consume. It is one way to

avoid food-borne diseases. Food-borne diseases are caused of the foods that are

not properly sanitized. Some of the vendors are selling left-over foods which is not

appropriate to do.
 The World Health Organization (1996) defines street food as foods and

beverages prepared and sold by vendors in streets and other public places for

immediate consumption (Who, 1996). Due to a lack of basic infrastructure such as

water connections and refrigeration, the sanitary quality at these venues may be

compromised, becoming a public health risk to the consumer. Risk factors at these

locations could affect food safety at critical points such as purchasing, which

includes criteria used in the selection of raw materials. Other critical points involve

hygienic practices utilized during transport of products to the vending site, and the

preparation of mixed ingredients, as well as cooking, storing, serving, sanitizing

and waste management practices (Costarrica and Morón, 1996, Donkor et al.,

2009, Fao, 2009b, Rane, 2011, Who, 1996, US Food and Drug Administration,

2014).

There has been an international call to increase the safety of food sold on

the street that encompasses all stages of the food production chain. There are

rudimentary global guidelines are in place (Rane, 2011, FAO, 2002, FAO, 2010).

However, the literature has predominantly uncovered inadequate sanitary

conditions in street food venues (Hanashiro et al., 2005, Lucca and da Silva

Torres, 2006, Nunes et al., 2010, Rodrigues et al., 2003).

This is important for the vendors to have enough knowledge about the

hygienic value in selling street foods so that the foods can be considered as clean

and hygienic to eat. For the consumers, they would not hesitate to buy on their

food displays because they are confident that it is clean for them to consume. This
is also important to the consumer because health is wealth so that they will choose

foods that are healthy to their health.

Having this idea is to announce everyone especially to the vendors and

consumers that they need to worry about what kind of food they eat in the street

because maybe some of the food display is left-over and then they just re-cooked

it. This is also to have awareness on food safety and proper hygiene.

This is to ensure the cleanliness and pureness of the street food displays

that people especially young teenagers usually purchase. This would benefit both

the street food vendors and the consumers to have enough information on food

safety.

Street foods business is blasting nowadays. Local festivals are usually the

highlights on the small island, Tobago, West Indies. The street vendors capitalized

on the Carnival season where they provide a variety of foods and beverages on‐

demand for masqueraders and spectators. Therefore, this study examined food

safety and hygienic practices by vendors and consumer perception of such

practices at the Carnival festivals in Tobago. Standard structured questionnaires

and observational checklists were compiled and administered to 50 vendors and

150 consumers at five Carnival events. Each vendor was observed for frequency

of practices for 15–20 min. Consumers were sampled systematically (every fifth

person encountered) at each event. The vendors examined were generally female

(70.0%), 41–50 years old (34.0%), possessed less than primary education

(36.0%), acquired more than 5 years of experience (44.0%) and were stationary
(78.0%). The most common food prepared and sold was hot dog (36.0% of all sold

foods). Educated vendors practiced good personal hygiene and on‐site food

handling, whereas the others performed improper practices such as absence of

aprons and hair covering, wearing of jewelry and handling money while serving.

Also, vendors displaying valid food badges generally practiced more proper

personal hygiene and food handling than those without badges. The majority of

the consumers examined were residents of Tobago (80.0%), female (74.7%), 21–

30 years old (39.3%) and possessed secondary education (53.3%). More than half

of the consumers purchased foods at Carnival events (57.3%). Most (82.7%) who

did not purchase stored foods in coolers. More than half (58.0%) had seen or read

Carnival food safety articles in the local newspapers and most (96.0%) were aware

that illnesses can be transmitted via consumption of food. Additionally, 42 out of

74 respondents (56.8%), who indicated that they were affected by foodborne

illness, sought medical help when foodborne illness was suspected. However, a

mere 13 out of 74 consumers (17.6%), who indicated that they were affected by

foodborne illness, lodged reports of suspected foodborne illness with the local

health authority. Younger consumers (21–30 years old) mostly read food safety

articles and were conscious of illness being transmitted via consumption of food.

In addition, the more educated consumers (tertiary education) indicated

awareness as well as formal reporting of foodborne illness. Some gaps in vendor

practices included handling of money while serving (78.0%), failure to clean

utensils (68.0%) and access to water (48.0%). Noteworthy, only visual observation

and interviews were utilized in the study.

 Street foods in these days are an important source of affordable and ready-

to-eat food available to everyone. In most Asian countries, the demand for eating

out increased with the decrease in eating at home due to urban sprawl as a result

of rapid modernization. In particular, economic crisis in Asia in the late 1990s

reduced household food spending and expanded the street food industry as a new

income source of the laid-off.

Since these street foods are affordable yet accessible and approachable by

the common people, while being unique and ingenious, they have the added

benefit that not only the people from the country of origin but also the foreigners

with a variety of nationalities and races can try them easily without reluctance. In

addition to its original function, street foods are expanding to function as a tourism

resource with the characteristics of a specific region or a country.

In Asia, large hawker centers in Singapore, night markets in Taiwan, and

food stalls in Fukuoka are typical examples of street foods as tourism resources,

in which street food culture took its root deep and evolved into a tourism resource,

resulting in street food enterprises growing in scale large enough to form a market

on its own.

Nevertheless, in most countries, street foods have been viewed as simple

snack and considered as the subject without merit for study. In fact, it is hard to

deny that portable food vendors crowding streets indiscriminately not only hurt the

esthetics of a city but also worsen traffic congestion and cause inconvenience to

pedestrians. In addition, it is the reality that they are often seen as the target of

crackdown and supervision by regulative authorities, rather than being evaluated

for the quality of the food and the service they provide because street foods have

been treated as non-nutritional and unsanitary food that is illegally made at

unlicensed businesses without a sufficient sanitation management system.

Consequently, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has

pointed out the need for efforts to train vendors, improve the conditions of sales

environment, and ensure the safety of street food while providing as much service

as possible, recognizing the importance and the potential risks of street food, and

also recommended that the control and management methods for street

regulations, the studies on hygienic sales process of street food, and the

appropriate strategies to improve stability should be developed and implemented

through expanded roles of international organizations.

Since street food enterprise has been neglected in research, even though

it takes up a part of food service industry, efforts need to be made to ensure food

sanitation and safety so that people can eat street foods with confidence. It is also

necessary to develop street food culture by minimizing the risk factors associated

with street food.

Therefore, the present study aims to provide foundational information to

improve the quality of street food by investigating the importance and the

satisfaction among adult males and females in Korea and Taiwan regarding street

food sanitation and choice factor, and providing the measures for management

and improvement of street foods. Korea and Taiwan have been selected

specifically in this study regarding the many tourists visiting each country and the

brisk day-and-night street foods market. Korean street foods cover a variety of
foods from fruits such as bananas or apples to agricultural and fishery products

such as crab or squid. Cultural food including Ddeokbokki and fish cakes also

cover a majority of Korean street food and are provided in diverse types of stands:

portable wagon type food stalls, vehicle type street stalls, semi fixed food stalls,

fixed stalls and conventional market type display stands. A uniqueness of Korean

street foods is that each region has a specialized type of street foods. Taiwan on

the other hand is famous for its night markets. 11 out of 69 might markets are

designated as special tourist zones and street food stalls are set up day and night.

Street foods of Taiwan not only include fruits or cultural food but also feature

foreign advanced foods adjusted to meet Taiwanese' taste.

A survey on food safety knowledge and practices of street food vendors

from a representative urban university campus in Quezon City, Philippines was

done. A face-to-face interview was conducted using a standardized survey tool

containing 70 questions, which included queries on demographics and food safety

knowledge and practices of street food vendors. Topics on food safety assessment

in both practices and knowledge included: health and personal hygiene, good

manufacturing procedures, food contamination, waste management, and food

legislation. The study found that among the 54 street food vendors surveyed,

knowledge on food safety concepts was established particularly on topics that

dealt with health and personal hygiene, food contamination and good

manufacturing procedures. However, vendors were shown to be not too

knowledgeable in terms of food legislation and waste management. A significant

gap between knowledge and practice on these topics was established and it was

primarily attributed to the tendencies of street food vendors to compromise food

safety for financial issues. Confusion in food legislation was established in this test

microcosm because the purveyor of food safety regulations was not the local

government health unit but the business concession office of the campus

administration. The provision of continuous food safety education, some financial

assistance through social services affiliations, and basic water and waste

management utilities were recommended to diminish the gap between knowledge

and practices of safe street food vending in school campuses.

Davao City Health Officer Doctor Josephine Villafuerte on Monday said that

vendors are not allowed to sell if they cannot secure their IDs (identification cards).

Villafuerte in media interview, said that after the food handling seminar, food

vendors are required to secure IDs or else they won’t be allowed to sell. Those

who have not attended on Monday will face delay in operating their business. As

said, “Those na hindi makapunta talaga for reason pwede naming gawin ang

seminar sa distrito pero syempre hindi siya agad-agad. Hindi rin sila kaagad

makakapagbenta sa streets”.

The seminar talked about proper food handling measures, how to display,

how to sell, and personal hygiene.

The seminar also underscored the importance of identifying perishable

goods and what happens when opening and repacking goods.

 Villafuerte said that before buying the consumers should check the IDs

issued by the city government and the health certificate of the vendors.

She also said that checking and inspections were to be conducted once

the City Planning and Department Office confirmed that they have already

released IDs for all the vendors.

Since the seminar was conducted, vendors were advised by CPDO to visit

their office every morning for the releasing of IDs.

Villafuerte also said that they would conduct continuous monitoring.

“Hindi yan siya masabi na one time na palagi mo siyang mamonitor kasi

palagi yang nagagamit one time malinis tomorrow hindi naman so dapat regular,”

Villafuerte said.

As for the health certificates, Villafuerte said that it can be released every

day and it would not take much time.

“Ang health certificate regular man yan everyday man hindi na masyadong

magpila kasi konti nalang man pag January, February lang ang mahaba pwede

silang makuha anytime,’’ Villafuerta said.

The heath certificate will cost P50. She added that laboratory test for health

certificate excluding x-ray costs P150. (KRP)

As stated in the Rules and Regulations Governing the Development of

Intramuros (1981) under the Land Use Policies and Regulations, foodservice

establishments like restaurants, sidewalk cafes, among others, should be

positioned in the ground floors of most buildings within the city. Pastry shops

specializing in Spanish delicacies, coffee shops and restaurants are allowed to

operate even in Special Zones such as the walls and fortifications, including Fort

Santiago and DAHLIA DEALINO-TANQUEZON, The Macro theme Review 4(2),

SI II 2015 2 all Gates, to name a few. However, street food vendors are proliferating

in all the areas of Intramuros. Migration from rural areas to urban centers resulted

to urban population growth which stimulated a rise in the number of street food

vendors in many cities throughout the world including the walled city of Intramuros.

The demand for relatively inexpensive, ready-to-eat food has increased, as

working people have less time to prepare meals (http://www.fao.org, 2011). As

local and foreign tourists come for a visit to Intramuros, some of them will possibly

eat and drink one or two of these street foods (Tanquezon, 2010). When the

demands of time, prices of food, fuel resources, cooking tools and equipment and

other considerations are weighed, people will opt to street foods because of quite

economical costs. If the vendors have easy access to decent stalls with acceptable

sanitary conditions, then the value of foods they are selling to their consumers

could be raised (Winarno & Allain, n.d.).

This study is important to the society for the reason that it could be an eye-

opener to the consumers of the food-vended products offered in Intramuros,

Manila. Street food vending is a very important income generating activity for a

vast number of people which contribute to economic self-reliance (EC Matthews-

Njoku, et. al.2006). However, street-vended foods may pose significant public
health problems which should be addressed properly by various regulating

agencies (Muzaffar, 2009; Mankee, et al 2003).

Statement of Intent

Street food vendors are now rapidly allocating the streets of Bunawan,

Davao City and the goodness of consumers is the purpose of the study. This paper

aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the insights of the consumers about the proper hygiene of the street

food vendors in Bunawan Davao City?

2. What are the challenges encountered by the consumers in choosing hygienic

food stall?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of improper hygiene preparation

of street food vendors to the consumers of Bunawan, Davao City?

Significance of the Study

This study will help to find out the consumer’s opinions about the hygienic

value of the street food vendors. Hence, the following are the significance of the

study:

Consumers. This will be beneficial to the consumers so that they can

express their opinions and thoughts about the hygienic value of the street food

vendors and to be able to suggest ideas for the hygienic values in each street food

vendors.
 Street Food Vendors. This will be beneficial to the street food vendors so

that they could hear the opinions and thoughts of the consumers and to have

immediate action about their hygiene.

Citizens. This will be beneficial to the citizens of barangay Bunawan so that

everyone will eat clean and hygienic foods.

To the future researchers. They will use this research as a benchmark to

better understand the significance of the hygienic value of the street food vendors.