Abstract
The sale of meals in food trucks on the streets of Downtown Maputo City (Mozambique) is increasing. However, the consumption of meals sold on the street is a risk to the health of the consumer due to the precarious practices of hygiene and care by the sellers. This study aimed to evaluate the hygienic-sanitary conditions of the food trucks on the streets of Maputo's Downtown. Thirty-three food trucks were evaluated. The owners of the vehicles were submitted to a questionnaire with semi-structured questions, and a check list to observe the implementation of good practices during the preparation and selling of the meals. Approximately 90% of the food trucks owners were female; 39.39% had secondary education level, 30.30% basic level, 27.27% primary level and 3.03% had no formal education. About 33.33% of the vendors did not have any training on meals preparation and selling. More than 50% of the vendors had white coat in good condition. Adornments were observed in 21.21%, and hand washing in 63.63% of the sellers. Only 24.24% of the vendors had clean, easy-to-carry containers for garbage disposal. The periodicity of the vehicle cleaning varied among sellers; 51.52% cleaned their vehicles daily, 24.24% every second day and 24.24% weekly. In the mediations of the selling place, we observed foci of insalubrity such as accumulations of trash, weeds and rubble. More than half of the vendors had never heard about the legislation regarding the meal selling and had never been surveyed by any entity. Overall hygienic-sanitary conditions were satisfactory in 50% of the surveyed vendors. However, the vehicles were not appropriate for selling meals; the environment of sale, sanitation and waste management need to be improved. Integral and ongoing training of vendors need to be done; legal entities should certify and monitor the activity.
Keywords:
Hygienic-sanitary conditions; Meals, street; Vendors; Vehicles
Thumbnail
Thumbnail
