Community Awareness of Microbial and Heavy Metal Contamination in Fried Street Foods Wrapped in Printed Papers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Due to poor hygiene, handling, and food safety education, street food poses a substantial public health risk. Foods wrapped in ink-printed papers have been related to cancer, neurological, reproductive, and renal and liver harm. Objective of this study was to assess community awareness regarding potential microbiological and heavy metal contamination in ready-to-eat fried foods wrapped in printed paper in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The structured questionnaire was used to assess the awareness of 293 street food vendors in three districts: Kinondoni, Temeke, and Kigamboni. The findings from this study indicated that most (67.8%) of vendors were female, primarily aged 31-40 years (58.0%), and mostly possessing a primary level education (47.7%). Approximately 67.5% of vendors were owners of their businesses, and 36.7% possessed more than four years of experience. Findings revealed printed paper to be the primary wrapping material (44.5%), followed by plastic bags (41.3%). Hygiene practices were was reported to be inadequate in which 88.0% of vendors did not cover their hair while 62.2% wore unclean clothing, and 95.1% failed to wash their hands before handling food. It was further revealed that awareness on heavy metal (71.1%) and microbial contamination (67.5%) was markedly inadequate and that the vendors were unaware of these risks, respectively. Although the finding showed poor awareness, 63.6% of vendors favoured the need for regulations on heavy metal contamination, while 56.5% favoured the reinforcement of regulations on the use of printed papers as wrapping materials for foods. These findings highlight the need to educate vendors about the risks associated with using ink-printed paper and personal hygiene practices to reduce microbial and heavy metal contamination.