Street Food: Deliciously Dangerous

The globally changing nature of working environments and lifestyles are creating a need for people to eat inexpensive meals, outside their homes, while on the run to work or school. Street food provide such meals and cater to this growing need in the fast pace world. Street food is food which can be obtained from sidewalk vendors with makeshift or portable stalls. Sidewalk vendors abound in impoverish and overly populated areas in the third world countries, such as the Philippines. Street food is the third world counterpart of fast food.

The most common Philippine street food are: squidballs, fishballs, kikiam with sauce for dipping, pork and chicken b-b-que, and for the westernized, there are burgers, hotdogs and cotton candy. Then, there are other more interesting street food, only available from the Philippine sidewalk, such as: balut (duck's egg with fetus), betamax (chicken blood, shape into squares), isaw (b-b-que chicken entrails), adidas(b-b-que chicken feet), helmet(b-b-que chicken head), tokneneng (quail egg dip in batter of flour and water, then deep fry), and quek-quek (deep fried-day old chick). There are also the very popular taho (beancurd with syrup and tapioca balls), palamig (fruit juices and crushed ice), sorbetes (dirty ice cream) and halo-halo (grated ice and mix of fruits candied and fresh).

According to one worldwide survey, 2.5 billion people, around the world, eat street food everyday. The staggering number merit a closer look at the lowly street food.

Street food maybe appetizing. But the result of studies about these are far from palatable. Studies revealed that, street food posed significant health risks, because these are prepared below food safety standards. Unhygienic handling and cooking results to high count of microbial load such as E coli, S aureus and salmonella, this microbial analysis of street food showed disturbing results, which should alarm health authorities regarding the health menace of street food, if the street food industry remains unregulated, as it is a largely unregulated sector of the economy in the third world. Most developing countries do not have policies or programs concerning street food vending, thereby disregarding a potentially lucrative sector of the economy.

The popularity of street food is their affordability and convenience. However, concerns on cleanliness and freshness often discourage people from eating street food. With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism, the safety of street food should become one of the major concerns of public health authorities in many third world countries, and a focus for governments and social scientists of these countries, to raise public awareness regarding the possible hazard street food could be to their health.

Hence, governments should provide comprehensive guidance of food safety for the vendors, traders and retailers of street food.

Street food vending should be regulated to include health checks for vendors. Provision for appropriate clothing, and instructions in food handling. Local authorities should see to it that improvements in infrastructures, water supply and garbage collection should be taken care of, so as to avoid foodborne diseases, such as cholera and other intestinal malady, from periodically becoming an epidemic. Also, to avoid food poisoning brought about by improper preparation and food handling.