Evaluation of hygienic practices and microbiological quality of street vended fruit salads in Morogoro, Tanzania
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Date
2023-09-28
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety
Abstract
Street vended foods have gained popularity due to economic benefits. However, they have been
recognized as a potential hazard to public health as a result of poor hygienic practices. The study
was conducted to assess the hygienic practices and microbiological quality of street vended fruit
salads vended in Morogoro Municipal, Tanzania. A total of 30 respondents were involved in the
study to assess of quality of fruit salad vended by town street vendors (TSV), University cafeterias
(UCV), and town restaurants vendors (TRV). The findings revealed that most vendors (86.3%)
were unaware of food safety, 73.3% were unaware of food safety standards and laws, and every
seller evaluated was unaware of food safety initiatives such as Good Manufacturing Practices
(GMP) and Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) and had never implemented any of them. All vendors
saw the doctor only when they were ill. Nevertheless, none of vendor had a quality registration
certificate or had undergone training in food safety and hygiene. Most of the salad preparation
settings (46.7%) did not adhere to the fundamental requirements of a food preparation facility, and the vending facilities were in disrepair. Piles of dirty were observed in the food salad preparation
and vending premises and 80% of the vendors used uncovered waste bins that were observed to
encourage pests such as flies and cockroaches in the premises. The total aerobic count (TAC)
ranged from 3.92±0.31 to 4.29±0.21 log CFU/g. All fruit salad samples were contaminated with
coliforms and the level of coliform count exceeded 1.4×10 4 MPN/g in fruit salad samples indicating
poor hygiene and fecal contamination. Possible sources of contamination were found to be water
quality, cross-contamination, food handling and preparation equipment, and environmental factors
such as dust, pests, and air quality. According to the study's findings, the majority of fruit salad
sellers in the study area did not adhere to hygienic practices, and the made fruit salads were of
poor microbiological quality, putting consumers at risk for food safety.
Description
European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety Volume 15, Issue 10, Page 73-84
Keywords
Street food vendors, Microbial quality, Hygiene practices, Fruit salad