Nomcebo Fortunate Ndhlovu¹, Frederick Tawi Tabit^2,

The possession of low food safety knowledge, inadequate food preparation facilities and the lack of sanitary resources by street food vendors may result in inappropriate food hygiene practices and poor sanitary conditions at street food vending sites. This study aimed to investigate the general food safety knowledge of street food vendors in Marabastad, Pretoria, as well as the sanitary conditions of their street food vending sites. A cross-sectional research design was conducted in which data was collected from 250 street food vendors selected purposefully. The street food vendors were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and their street food vending sites were observed using a sanitary observation checklist. Most street food vendors were male (66.8%) and above the age of 36. The vast majority (70%) of street food vendors had not attended any food safety training course. The majority (76%) of street food vendors possessed inadequate food safety knowledge while 20% had moderate food safety knowledge and only 4% had high food safety knowledge. All the street food vending sites had a sanitary compliance score of 17 or lower out of 39. More than three-quarters of street food vendors in Marabastad had low food safety knowledge. All the street food vending facilities in Marabastad had low compliance with sanitary criteria and therefore the food sold here can constitute a health risk.

street food vendors, food safety, sanitary conditions, sanitary compliance