Implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) in Mobile Pandesal Operations in Lingayen, Pangasinan

This study examined the implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles among 20 mobile pandesal vendors in Lingayen, Pangasinan, in light of the food safety obligations established under Republic Act No. 10611 (Food Safety Act of 2013). Mobile food vending offers a low-capital livelihood option but has been repeatedly shown, in prior Philippine studies of ambulant and public-market vendors, to carry persistent gaps in formal food safety training and compliance. Using a mixed-methods design, the study administered a structured, content-validated questionnaire to all 20 identified pandesal cart vendors operating in Lingayen, assessing five dimensions: compliance with food safety standards, sanitation and hygiene practices, monitoring and documentation of critical control points, vendor awareness and training, and support from local authorities. Open-ended items captured vendors' lived operational challenges. Results showed an overall average weighted mean of 3.28, interpreted as "Highly Practiced" per the study's own interpretation scale, with monitoring and documentation of temperature-related control points and sanitation practices rated strongest (3.475 each) and support from local government units rated weakest (2.80), particularly access to subsidies or technical assistance (2.10). Qualitative responses linked these gaps to environmental exposure, lack of fixed infrastructure, and limited access to affordable protective equipment. While vendors reported generally sound hygiene practices consistent with current good manufacturing practice (cGMP), few could identify or explain formal critical control points specific to HACCP, indicating that observed compliance reflects general food-handling discipline more than structured HACCP application. The study recommends targeted, gap-specific training on CCP identification and monitoring, low-cost recordkeeping tools, and expanded LGU technical support, offering a locally grounded model for extending HACCP principles to informal, mobile food operations.