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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Street food vendors are ubiquitous and a conspicuous presence in most cities. They
are regarded as potential conduits of foodborne disease as a result of the conditions
in which food is prepared, yet in many developing countries, the street food trade
provides an important source of both food and income. It would seem that much of
the bias against street foods is unfounded and based on prejudice rather than on
empirical data. This study has shown that street food vendors have adequate
information with regard to the 5 principles of food safety. The knowledge about
clean water does however require further investigation. The attitude of street food
vendors to food safety can also be regarded as attuned to the need to ensure safe
practices in food preparation. Whether this is converted into practice requires further
exploration in future studies, with triangulation of methods. The influence of training
was evident in some street vendors. Trained vendors had more knowledge in some
of the 5 keys principles and had a more positive attitude than the untrained street
food vendors. Age, education level and length of time in the business, were not
factors determining the knowledge, attitude and practices of SFVs.
It can be concluded that these street food vendors practice the 5 key behaviours
required to ensure food safety and that possibly the health risk posed by street foods
may be no greater than the risk posed by foods from other sources. The study
provides the City of Johannesburg with information regarding the knowledge,
