FEATURE: Street Food: Culture or Health Risk?

Street foods are ubiquitous. No matter where you go, there are various foods, some peculiar, others exotic, that can satisfy your cravings or alleviate hunger. Alternatively, they provide something to discuss with friends and family.

During my first trip abroad (back in the late 1980s when I traveled to Thailand), I was hesitant to consume anything sold on the streets of Bangkok. At least for the initial two days. However, on the third day, I made the unexpected choice: I tried sliced green mango and drank pineapple juice. This marked my first experience with street food in a foreign country.

Indeed, I typically refrain from experimenting with food while traveling internationally. The reason being: I wish to avoid stomach aches or illnesses that could lead to a disastrous trip or, worse, a stay in a hospital.

In Siem Reap, Cambodia, the situation was quite different. It was there that I encountered grilled scorpions. Additionally, I saw large spiders that had been fried and were ready for consumption! However, the most shocking were the baby snakes (with the heads removed, of course) that were barbecued.

Thus, my perception of Philippine balut as the most exotic street food was completely shattered. Balut is a fertilized duck egg that has been incubated for 18 days, resulting in a partially formed embryo inside.

“Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or other public place, such as at a market or fair,” Wikipedia states. “It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and meant for immediate consumption.”

Origin

Street food is thought to have originated in ancient civilizations, where it functioned as a convenient and economical food source for city inhabitants. In ancient Greece, vendors offered small fried fish on the streets, whereas in ancient Rome, food stalls known as thermopolia supplied ready-to-eat meals for the city’s populace, many of whom resided in apartments lacking kitchens. These establishments provided a range of dishes, including stews made from faro, beans, and chickpeas, primarily serving the less affluent segments of society.

As urban areas grew, the need for quick and affordable meals increased, resulting in a rise in street food vendors. This phenomenon was not confined to Europe; in ancient China, street food was also widespread, with affluent individuals dispatching servants to procure meals for them, while the less fortunate relied on street vendors for their daily nourishment. Consequently, street food has become a vital aspect of urban life, mirroring local culinary traditions and adapting to the preferences of varied populations.

Today, most street foods are classed as both finger food and fast food and are cheaper on average than restaurant meals. A study conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations showed approximately 2.5 billion people globally eat street food every day.

“Street foods represent a significant part of urban food consumption for millions of low- and middle-income consumers, in urban areas on a daily basis,” FAO states. “Street foods may be the least expensive and most accessible means of obtaining a nutritionally-balanced meal outside the home for many low-income people.”

The Filipino Experience

Local authorities, international organizations and consumer associations are increasingly aware of the socioeconomic importance of street foods but also of their associated risks. “With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism,” FAO said in a statement, “the safety of street food has become one of the major concerns of public health, and a focus for governments and scientists to raise public awareness.”

Concerns of cleanliness and freshness often discourage people from eating street foods. According to experts, all street foods, cooked or raw, can cause gastroenteritis, typhoid and hepatitis, depending on the bacteria or viral infection they contain. Most contamination is caused by contact with feces.  Other causes of infection are the growing yeast, because it’s not stored properly, and flies.

The Department of Health (DOH) has been constantly releasing advisories urging the public to be extra careful in buying food and drinks from street vendors. In its website, the DOH said consumers of street foods are susceptible to food- and water-borne diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites as well as non-infectious diseases caused by chemical and plant toxins.

A DOST study conducted a couple of years back discovered that most of the samples taken from the street food sold in four urban centers – in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Laguna and the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in Quezon City – did not pass quality standards.

In the DOST study, microbiological findings indicated the presence of coliforms such as Escherichia coli, Enterobacterae aerogenes, and E. cloacae in both barbecued and deep-fried animal by-products.  This means that the bacteria load of the selected food samples was rather high, ranging from 240 to 2,400 per gram of food.

In Davao City, the study found out that foods sold on city streets were tested positive for certain bacteria and salmonella.  The latter is a kind of bacteria that can survive many weeks and months in optimum conditions and causes diseases like typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever or other food-borne illnesses.  Death is not uncommon in salmonella infection.

After the study was released, a reporter asked then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio if total ban of street foods in the city is possible, the lady mayor replied: “Food per se is not dangerous, improper handling is.”

Duterte clarified that even before the DOST conducted the study, the local government had constantly monitored the safety of street foods. “We distributed carts that are ideal for street food cooking and display, vendors use their hair nets, go through food handling seminars and get identification cards from the City Health Office,” she said.

In another study done by the US-based Equity Policy Center, it was found that the largest single problem of the street food industry in most of the developing countries is the lack of access to clean water for washing utensils and hands.

One of the health problems people may suffer from eating bacteria-laden street food is food poisoning.  “The risk of serious food poisoning outbreaks linked to street foods remains a threat in many parts of the world,” the FAO stressed.  “A lack of knowledge among street food vendors about the causes of food-borne disease is a major risk factor.”

Now, are street foods boon or bane? While they are a boon to vendors, street foods are also a bane among consumers.  Because of this, concerned sectors – especially those selling near school campuses – are compelled to observe proper sanitation and cleanliness with stringent measures to discourage roadside food vendors from selling unsanitary and junk foods to students.

“Any potential health hazards from street foods,” wrote Henson, quoting FNRI, “can be prevented if we only take the challenges of food quality and safety.”