Factors influencing health, food safety and hygiene practices among street food vendors in Meru town, Kenya

Street food vending is a popular and essential aspect of urban food culture in many African cities, including Meru Town, Kenya. However, concerns about food safety and hygiene have become significant public health issues. This research aimed to investigate the factors influencing the health, food safety and hygiene practices among Street Food Vendors (SFVs) in Meru Town, Kenya. A cross-sectional study on 344 SFVs was carried out using structured questionnaires. The results revealed a clustering of SFVs in four locations within Meru town. Slightly more respondents were male (50.87%) than female (49.13%). The majority of SFVs were aged between 26-35 years old (38.66%) and had completed secondary education (50.29%). On average, the vendors had been in business for 5.13 years with an average daily income of KES 1,417.38. Age significantly (p = 0.0335) influenced the occurrence of health issues among SFVs, with vendors aged 26-35 years being more likely to fall sick. There was a highly significant association between education level and training on food hygiene and safety (p < 0.0001), training on food preparation (p = 0.0119), and holding a food handlers’ certificate (p < 0.0001). Factors significantly (p < 0.01) influencing food hygiene practices included vending location, vendors' education level, gender, age, food handler’s health certification, and vendor mobility. Poor hygiene and food handling practices were reported that 97% of vendors handled food with bare hands, 75.29% handled food without washing their hands and 92.44% did not wash their hands after handling money. Targeted interventions and awareness programs to improve food hygiene and safety among SFVs in Meru Town are needed to safeguard public health.