KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF STREET FOOD HANDLERS AMONG BARI IMAM COMMUNITY

Background: Street food includes the foods, snacks, and beverages prepared in the street and public areas. Some street foods are “ready to serve” while others are prepared as per the demand of customers. Most of the street food handlers in the Bari Imam Community do not have enough knowledge about healthy food handling practices. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Bari Imam Community among 60 street food handlers. A structured questionnaire was used for assessing food handlers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Overall, 31 questions were asked to determine hygiene and food handling practices among food handlers. Results: The results show there is a correlation between the hand washing practices among educated and uneducated vendors before cooking. The vendors at the metric level have more awareness about hand washing practices. The results reveal that out of 60 participants, 57 were maintaining hygienic practices before cooking while 3 were not. The hand washing ratio of matriculated is 31.6% while 68.3% are others. The results reveal that out of 60 participants, 22 are aware of food contamination and diseases while 38 are not aware of this. The ratio includes 36.6% aware and 63.3 not aware of contamination of food and diseases. The results show that out of 60 participants, 9 were using caps and gloves while 51 participants were not using them. The percentage shows a huge difference between the vendors’ i.e15% for yes and 85% for no. The results reveal that the participants were 60 out of which only 24 participants were using gloves while handling food and 36 were not using them. 40% of the participants are using and 60% stated that they are not using. Conclusion: Street food handlers in the Bari Imam community were assessed in this study regarding their food handling practices. It revealed that most street food makers lack knowledge about food and they have not received any kind of food safety training. Government and policy-making organizations should pay attention to improving the safety of street food. Keywords: Street food, street food handling, street food safety knowledge, street food hygiene.