Food Hygiene and Sanitary Condition Awareness among Street Food Vendors

Abstract : The objective of this study was to investigate the level of awareness among the street food vendors in Barangay Saber, Marawi City specifically regarding food hygiene and sanitary condition. The researcher utilized a descriptive-survey research design using survey-questionnaires as the primary tool to figure out the problems in sustaining food safeties for the consumers. These street food vendors play an important role in the economy by making goods more accessible and affordable, as well as providing livelihood opportunities for people with few job options in the city. The survey-questionnaires were contained of two parts, part one, socio-demographic profile of respondents and part two were the problems on food street vendors’ food hygiene and sanitation awareness in terms of food serving and surrounding sanitation. A total of forty-one (41) street food vendors participated in the study. Moreover, the study employed frequency, percentage distribution and weighed mean with the aid of SPSS Software as statistical tools used to understand the data and interpret the results properly. The results revealed that all the identified indicators that may influenced the maintaining of proper hygiene and sanitary of food establishments of the street vendors were positively perceived by the respondents. The street food vendors were properly aware on the important of food hygiene which is part of food safety and ensuring the health and well-being of the consumers. The average weighted mean is 2.70 or “often” as descriptively define. Results implied that these street food vendors were observing properly the importance of cleanliness to prevent their customers from illnesses due to negligence on proper handling of foods and maintaining the positive environment.