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ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Poor personal and environmental hygiene contribute significantly to
food contamination and resultant foodborne diseases. It is assumed that by their
nature, street food contamination is inevitable, yet millions of people depend on this
source of nutrition and economic livelihood. Foodborne illness poses substantial
health burdens and their impact on vulnerable populations is concerning. Education
of food industry personnel in hygiene matters is recommended for improving safer
food handling practices. Environmental Health Practitioners are, in terms of South
African food safety law, authorized to train food handlers. There is, however, a lack
of documentary evidence of improvements in food hygiene standards which can be
directly related to education or training. This study is aimed to assess the extent of
street food vendor information and education on food safety.
Aim: To determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of street food
vendors, within the City of Johannesburg, with regard to food hygiene and safety.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study utilizing a quantitative research
approach. Data was collected through face-to-face interviewing of street food
vendors, with observations of general hygiene and cleanliness. Data was captured in
Excel and imported into CDC Epi Info version 3.4.3 (2007) for analysis. Numerical
data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and categorical data was analyzed
using frequencies. Bivariate analysis was used to establish differences between
regions with high and low proportions of street food vendors with regard to
