erhvervsprojekt street food in kolkata -...

StreetfoodinKolkata

‐ Ahygienicperspectiveby

Janniebøegh‐PetersenGSK09007

MarieTøstesenGSK09008

Supervisor:

Prof.SusanneKnøchel

LektorJeanetteOtte

ProjectinPractice400040,blok3

Submitted16thApril,2010,KULIFE

StreetfoodinKolkata–Ahygienicperspective ProjectinPractice400040,blok3,16thApril,2010,KULIFE

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Abstract

Thisreportevaluatesourproject inpracticethroughtheorganizationInnoaid inKolkata.Adescriptionof

InnoaidandthesituationinKolkataisincluded.Theaimoftheworkwastoclarifyhygienicpracticeamong

themiddle‐classstreetfoodvendorsinKolkataby:

Examinethecurrent levelofhygienepracticeandknowledgeamongvendors, identify themajorhygiene

problems,andmakeproposalforinitiativestoincreasethehygieneofstreetfoodinKolkata.

Data was collected using observations, interviews, questionnaire and a workshop and have focus on

involvementofthevendors’ownperspectivesandexperiencesonmaintaininggoodhygienepractice.The

dataisdividedintofourcategoriesinordertousethevariousmethodsandcollecteddatainconjunction

with each other. The founding’s show that the vendors actually have a reasonable understanding of

hygiene but they do not always practice their knowledge. These results are discussed and followed by

suggestionsforimprovements.Ultimatelythereportendswithourpersonallearningoutcomes.


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TableofContents

PART1 ......................................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION(JANNIE) ..........................................................................................................................5INNOAIDANDPROJECTMOTIVATION..................................................................................................................... 5

InnoaidProjectVision................................................................................................................................ 6InnoaidProjectMission ............................................................................................................................. 6

THESITUATIONOFSTREETFOODINKOLKATA(JANNIE)............................................................................6STREETFOODVENDORS ...................................................................................................................................... 7THESTREETFOOD .............................................................................................................................................. 8THECUSTOMERS ............................................................................................................................................... 8GOVERNMENTKOLKATA ..................................................................................................................................... 9HYGIENETRAININGCAMPS ................................................................................................................................ 10MODELSAFETYZONE ....................................................................................................................................... 10NATIONALPOLICYONURBANSTREETVENDORS2004 .......................................................................................... 11

PART2 ....................................................................................................................................................11

HYGIENETHEORY(JANNIE)......................................................................................................................11FOURHYGIENICCATEGORIES.............................................................................................................................. 12

FoodSafety.............................................................................................................................................. 12HygieneoftheEnvironment.................................................................................................................... 13PersonalHygiene..................................................................................................................................... 13FoodandQuality ..................................................................................................................................... 14

CONTROLOFHYGIENE ...................................................................................................................................... 14HACCP ..................................................................................................................................................... 14

PRESENTPROBLEMOFTHISPROJECT(JANNIEANDMARIE) ....................................................................15

CLARIFICATIONANDDEFINITIONINOURRESEARCH(MARIE) .................................................................15

RESEARCHMETHODS ..............................................................................................................................16DATACOLLECTIONINGENERAL........................................................................................................................... 16DATACOLLECTION ........................................................................................................................................... 16

HygieneTheory ....................................................................................................................................... 17Observations: .......................................................................................................................................... 17Interviews................................................................................................................................................ 18Interviewswithconsumers...................................................................................................................... 18Questionnaire.......................................................................................................................................... 19Workshop ................................................................................................................................................ 19

DATAANALYSIS(MARIE) .........................................................................................................................20OBSERVATION................................................................................................................................................. 20COOLINGANDHEATINGFACILITIES: ..................................................................................................................... 21HYGIENEOFENVIRONMENT:.............................................................................................................................. 21PERSONALHYGIENE: ........................................................................................................................................ 22


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FOODANDQUALITY: ........................................................................................................................................ 22INTERVIEWSWITHVENDORS .............................................................................................................................. 22INTERVIEWSWITHCONSUMERS:......................................................................................................................... 23

Criteriaforchoosingavendor ................................................................................................................. 23Foodsafetyandknowledge .................................................................................................................... 24Upgradingknowledge ............................................................................................................................. 25

QUESTIONNAIREANDWORKSHOP....................................................................................................................... 25Questionnaire.......................................................................................................................................... 25

Foodsafety ............................................................................................................................................................................. 26Personalhygiene .................................................................................................................................................................... 27Foodandquality ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27

Workshop ................................................................................................................................................ 27Foodsafety ............................................................................................................................................................................. 28Hygieneofenvironment ......................................................................................................................................................... 29Personalhygiene .................................................................................................................................................................... 29Foodandquality ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30

BIAS ........................................................................................................................................................31GENERAL........................................................................................................................................................ 31OBSERVATION................................................................................................................................................. 31INTERVIEW ..................................................................................................................................................... 32QUESTIONNAIRE.............................................................................................................................................. 32WORKSHOP.................................................................................................................................................... 33

DISCUSSIONANDTRIANGULATION(JANNIEANDMARIE) .......................................................................33FOODSAFETY .................................................................................................................................................. 33HYGIENEOFENVIRONMENT............................................................................................................................... 34PERSONALHYGIENE.......................................................................................................................................... 34FOODANDQUALITY ......................................................................................................................................... 35HYGIENICKNOWLEDGE? ................................................................................................................................... 35

Thestreetfoodvendors........................................................................................................................... 35TheCostumers......................................................................................................................................... 36

MAKETHEHYGIENEVISIBLE ............................................................................................................................... 37ATMOSPHERE ................................................................................................................................................. 38WHATCANMAKEITHAPPEN?............................................................................................................................ 38

CONCLUSION(JANNIEANDMARIE).........................................................................................................39

PERSPECTIVES .........................................................................................................................................40

KNOWLEDGEANDMETHODS ..................................................................................................................41

REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................42

PART3 ....................................................................................................................................................44

PERSONALLEARNINGREFLECTIONS ........................................................................................................44

APPENDIX6:NATIONALPOLICYFORSTREETFOODVENDORS .................................................................62


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Part1

Introduction(Jannie)The world is becoming rapidly more urban. The population of the developing countries is projected to

doublefrom1.7billionin1995to3.4billionin2020andrisingdeprivationinurbanareasincludingpoverty,

foodinsecurity,andmalnutritionareincreasingfasterthaninruralareas,andurbangrowthnowpresentsa

seriouschallengeindevelopingcountries(Maxwell2000).

Foodsafetyhasbeendeclaredaglobalandincreasingpublichealthconcernbyinternationalagenciessuch

as FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) andWHO (World health Organization). However the exact

numberoffoodpoisoningandfoodbornediseasesisnotknownsincemostincidencesarenotreported.It

hasbeenestimatedthatfoodandwaterbornediarrhealdiseasesareleadingcausesofillnessanddeathin

less developed countries killing 1.8 million people annually (WHO 2002). Thus, have the potential of

seriouslydamagingthehealthstatusof thepopulations,simultaneouslycreatinganenormoussocialand

economicburdenoncommunitiesandtheirhealthsystems.

Furthermore,theurbangrowthandfoodinsecurityareimportantsubjectsregardingthegrownstreetfood

sector.Theeatinghabitsarechanged.Thestreetvendors,whosoldonlyrawcommoditiesinthepast,now

sellpreparedfoodsaswell.Thestreetfoodtradehassheditsdisorganized,lowerclassimageandis

becomingaviable,important,informal‐sectorindustry.Theactivityprovidesincomeforpeoplewhowould

otherwisebeunemployed.Butsellingpreparedfoodsinthestreetsalsoraisesconcernsaboutfoodsafety

(Chakravarty&Canet1996).

InnoAidandprojectmotivationInnoAidisanNGObasedinDenmark,foundedandrunbystudentsfromdifferentuniversities.TheInnoAid

street foodproject teamconsistofMatiasPollmannGomez ‐MScStudent inManagementEngeneering,

MarieLouiseMLarsen–MScStudentinDesignEngineeringandSandraVillumsen–BSCinMedicine.These

personsarethemaincoordinatorswhomakedecisionsanddelegatingwork.Inadditionseveralvolunteer

students are involved. InnoAid develops the hygiene and economic training programmes alongwith the

productdevelopmentofanewcart for selling food,whichsupports thehygiene training inparticular. In

cooperationwithJoygopalpurGramVikashKendra(JGVK)alocalNGOinSunderbans,southofKolkata,the

trainingisfacilitatedtothestreetvendors,whicharebecomingorganizedinSelf‐helpgroups.Thegoalof

theInnoAidprojectistwofold.First,itistosecurebetterhygieneandtherebybetterfood.Second,itplaces

thevendorsinastrongerpositioneconomicallyandsocially,astheyhopefullywillgetmorecustomers,and


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become a more accepted part of the cityscape, and therefore should no longer pay bribes to stay in

business.TheInnoAidprojectisdividedintofourcomponents.

Component1‐Thestreetfoodvendorswillbegiveneducationandtraining,throughmultipleworkshops,

onbasicfinancialmanagementandbasichygiene.

Component2 ‐ThevendorswillbegivenavisitbytheNGOJGVKtocheckhowtheirmoneysavingsare

going.FurthermorethemicrocreditservicewillbesetupandmanagedbytheNGOJGVK.

Component3‐Advertisedandpromotedforanew,improved,streetfoodtrolley,enablinghygienicfood

preparation,andimprovethelookandinfrastructureofthestreetfoodarea.

Component 4 – This will look into how the rural women could be involved in process spices and

manufacturehygienicorganicplatesandbowlsofleavesforserving(InnoAid,2009).

InnoaidProjectVisionThevisionisthelong‐rangegoalfortheproject,andshouldthereforebeseenandusedasaguidelinefor

theproject.Externallyitwillbeusedasameantoinfluencestakeholdersandinternallytokeeptheright

focus.

”TocreateanewsustainableframeworkfortheproductionofstreetfoodinKolkata,whichshouldsecure

betterfoodhygiene,andthroughthatbetterlivingconditionsforthestreetfoodvendors”(InnoAid,2009).

InnoaidProjectMission”To design a newway of selling street foodwith focus on food hygiene, contemporarywith the needed

surroundingservicesystem.Additionally, innovationofthewastemanagement,thefoodsupplychainand

thehandlingofwaterisneeded”(Ibid.2009).

ThesituationofStreetFoodinKolkata(Jannie)AsdescribedintheIntroductionstreetfoodraisesaconcernaboutfoodsafetyinmanypartsoftheworld.

Studies from Kolkata have shown that the nutrition value of the street food is good, but hygiene tests

showed thatabout60per centof the foodcontainsmicrobes that cancausecoli infection.Thebacteria

comemainlyfrompoorhandling,notthefood(HTCorrespondent,2004).

AstudybyChakravarty&CanetinKolkatafrom1996found:

‐ That the standardplate count (SPC)of samplesof lassi hadamuchhigher SPC comparedwith aheat‐

treatedfriedproductdosa(fermentedriceandblackgramflourpancake),


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Even though the pH of dosa and lassi is low and not favourable for the growth of Salmonella spp. or

Shigellaspp.,thesebacteriawerestilldetected.Thecontaminationprobablyoccurredafterprocessingand

isofgreatconcern.OneoftheprobablesourcesofSalmonellasp.maybetheiceusedinthepreparationof

lassi.

‐ That Escherichia coli, chiefly an indicator of faecal contamination, was detected in 55 percent of the

samplestested.ThepresenceofE.coliraisesasuspicionofimproperfoodhandlingpractices.

‐Thatvendorswerenotawareofapertainingtoartificialcoloursliststheapprovedcolours.Forinstance,

metanilyellow(atextilecolour)hadalonghistoryofuseasasubstituteforsaffron.Manyusersofmetanil

yellowdidnotknowthat itwasnotpermitted.Unauthorizeduseoffoodadditiveswasdetectedin30of

the50samples.

‐Thatthewaterusedfordrinking,cooking,washingoffruitsandvegetables,dishwashing,handwashing,

etc. came from pipes or hand‐operated tube wells supplied to different localities by the Municipal

CorporationofKolkata. Itwas foundtobecontaminated in47percentofsamplesanalyzed. Itshouldbe

notedthatthewaterwassafecomingfromthesourcebutbecamecontaminatedthroughpoorhandling

practices.

The above examples show that hygienic behaviours, food handling practices of street vendors, water

qualityetc.areallpotential sourcesof foodcontaminationandefforts toensurestreet foodsafetymust

thereforebe initiatedatmany levels. Sale and consumptionof street foodsareon the increaseandwill

continuetogrow(WHO2006).Thesafetyofstreetfoodisthereforeanareawithgrowingimportancefor

publichealthbuttheavailabilityofsafestreet foodsalsoprovidean importantplatformforproductivity,

developmentandpovertyalleviation(WHO2002).

StreetfoodvendorsA street food vendor is broadly defined as “a personwho offers goods or services for sale to the public

without having a permanent built up structure but with a temporary static structure of mobile stall (or

headload)”(Ghosh).

InKolkata it isestimatedthattherearebetween130.000and150.000streetfoodvendors.Oftheurban

populationofIndia,between2and2.5%arestreetvendors(Chakravarty&Canet1996).

Our observations and previous studies in Kolkata (Ibid. 1996) suggest that males, own the biggest

proportion(90%)offastfoodenterprisesinKolkata,andthevastmajorityofemployeesaremaleaswell.

Theprimaryreasonisthatthewivesofthevendorshelpthebusinessbypreparingfoodfromhome.


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Onaverage,halfthestallshadanemployee.Theageofmalevendorsrangedfrom20to45years,whilethe

ageoffemalevendorswas30to45years.

Educational levels among street food vendors were low in general, and 21 percent of vendors were

illiterate.This figure ishigher thantheaverage forurbanpeoplebut lower thanthat for rural situations;

around 40 percent of the vendors were from the rural areas. A sizeable number of vendors were

commuters.Often,theyhadtocarrytheirwaresbytrain,travellingdistancesof25to30km.

Duetothislackofeducationinhandlingasmallbusinesseconomy,thevendorsrunaday‐to‐dayeconomy

‐tisestimatedthatmostvendorshaveadailysurplusintheregionof20to100RS(Ibid.1996).

ThestreetfoodThemostauthenticcuisineof India is the Indianstreet food.Thestreet foodsarepopularbecause itcan

servealmost1000caloriesoffoodinexchangeofRs.7/8only.Thehotelsandrestaurantshavenocapacity

to feed such a vast population in all practical sense and also in so cheaper price (Ghosh). From the

customersinterviewswefoundthatitischeapestfortraditionalIndiandishessuchaschapattiorricewith

differentkindsvegetables.Meatismoreexpensive.

Therearemanyethnicgroups inKolkata,andasaresultthestreetfoodsrepresentamixedcuisine.One

survey found that they servemore than300different typesof foodon the foothpath – this includes all

kindsoffoodofdifferentIndianstates‐thisprotectsthefoodsovereigntyintheageofglobalization(Ibid.).

ThecustomersTheurbanpopulationsarehighlydependentonstreetfoods.Thecustomersrangfromupperclassbusiness

mentohomelessbeggars,thereasonablypricedstreetfoodareofhighimportanceforthepeopleinthe

low‐incomeend.

Urbanizationandlongerdistancesfromhomestoworkplacesmakesitimpossibleformanyworkerstoeat

athome.Thereforethenumbersofworkersbuystreetfoodsastheirdailymeals.Theproximityandeasy

accessibilitytoagoodselectionofdishesalsoaddedtotheconvenienceofbuyingstreetfoodsinsteadof

cookingathome(Maxwell2000).

A studyhas shown that approximately80percentof the costumers aremalewithanaverageageof 34

years.Allrespondentswereemployed,andsomewerealsostudents.Theirmonthlyincomesvariedfrom

Rs.250 toRs.10000ormore.Onaverage, regular costumers spentRs.250on street foodspermonth.

Mostofthecostumersboughtstreetfoodseveraltimeaweekandmostoftheconsumershadbought it

foralongtimeinarangefrom10monthto15years.


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Thecostumersinthestudyfeltthatfoodsboiledorfriedjustbeforeservingaremostsanitary.Costumers

considered the quality of food, neatness, hygienic situation and set‐up of the stalls inadequate. They

supportedgovernmentcontrol forbetterquality, lowpricesand improvedhygiene (Chakravarty&Canet

1996).

GovernmentKolkataIn India,corruptionofpublicemployees isquiteusual, intheshapeofbribestothe localpolicemen.The

amountofbribesandprotectionmoneypaidbyvendorsissodistinct,thatitisestimatedthatasmuchas

20%ofavendor’ssurplusgoestothesepayments.Notallvendorspayprotectionmoneytothepolice,but

thosewhodoesnotmustpaybribestosomekindof“mafia”.Sowhetherthevendorpaysapersonfrom

thegovernment(police,foodregulation)orsomesortofmafiaisbasicallythesame.

Becauseoftheambiguouslawsregardingthevendingofstreetfoods,isamajorsourcetowhythepolice

andfoodregulationcankeepharassingtheyvendorsbydemandingbribes(Chakravarty&Canet,1996).

In 1992 The Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health

(AIIHPH)neededbetterdataonbothfoodsafetyandthesocio‐economicaspectsofthestreetfoodsector.

Thus, the Government of India sought assistance under the FAO Technical Cooperation Programme to

assess the street food situation, to identify measures to reduce the health risks for consumers and to

improvethestreetfoodsector.

Thestudiescoveredsuchissuesas:

‐Thelegalaspectsofstreetfoodvending

‐Thesafetyoffoodspreparedandsoldinthestreets

‐Socio‐economicfactorsaffectingconsumersandvendors

‐Streetfoodindustrypractices

‐Streetfoodcontamination

‐Andtheenvironmentalandsanitaryconsequencesoftheactivity(Ibid.1996).

Planningwas, according to the study, to develop some food cornermodel and training of food vendors

started.ThemodelcornersshouldhaveopenedfirstofJune1996,butduetolackofpoliticalwill,thisdid

nothappenwasnotdone(HawkersSangramCommittee).Therefore,itisnowimportanttofocusonwhat

has since been done to improve the situation of street food vendors in Kolkata. Since the improved

conditionsultimatelywillleadtobetterhygieneconditionsandthussaferfood.


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HygienetrainingcampsThestudyfrom1996showedthatthevendorsneededtobetrainedinhygiene.In2002theCalcuttaHSS(a

networkof allmajorHawker’sUnion in Kolkata,Appendix 5) has embarked a trainingprogramwith the

helpofAIIHPHexperts.TherehasbeenconductedatrainingsessionasperWHOguidelinesforvendors‐

using videosandposters for thepurpose.Onehundredvendorswere taught to keep their surroundings

clean,maintainpersonalhygiene (keeptheirnailscleanandnottospit),keep foodcovered,servefreshly

cooked food to prevent formation of bacteria and select wholesome vegetables and fruit. They were

cautionedon theuseof coloursand cookingmedium. Theywere taught tousecleanwater notonly for

cookingbutalsotowashtheirutensils. In thecaseof illnesstheyweretoldtokeepawayfromthestalls

(StatesmanNewsService,2002).

Thetraininginvolvesatwo‐prongedapproach.Thesellerisadvisedtoservehygienicfoodandthebuyeris

toldtoavoidspittingorthrowingleftoversotherthaninthegarbagebin.

Amoveisalsoontoregulatestreetfoodvendorswithinthenextthreemonthswiththeissuingoflicenses

tocontrolvending.Thereareproposedmobilefoodstallsthatwillbeallowedtooperatebetween12noon

and4p.m.inofficeareas.Forthis,itispreparedtopaynightparkingallowance.Itisalsotriedtomakethe

KMC(KolkataMunicipalCorporation)supplywatertovendors.

Therewasnoproblemingettingthevendorsaccepttotheconceptofhygiene.Thevendors’saleswentup

becausepeoplesawthattheygothygienetraining.Thisresultedinthatalotofothervendorswantedto

signupforthetraining.Afterthetrainingthevendorsareusingcleanutensils,andaspecialtypeofwater

filterfittedtothetapforcostumers.Thevendorssaythattheypromisetofollowupontheinstruction,they

willwearanapronandalsokeeptheumbrellainthestallwherethecostumerscanstandandeattheirfood

(BBCNEWS,2005).

ModelsafetyzoneFinally,in2004fourmodelsofsafetyfoodzoneweredeveloped,atfourplacesinKolkata.300ofthestreet

foodvendorswerenowtrainedinnutritionandhygiene.Theywouldtrainfellowvendors.Thefourstreet

includedCamacStreet,RusselStreet,ElginRoadandfromParkStreetcrossingtochatterjeeInternational

onJLNehruRoad.Eachfoodstallwouldhaveabinandeveryzonewouldengageasweepertocleanthe

area thrice a day. Vendors could approach KMC for supply of potable water (Bandyopadhyay, 2004).

Instead of using plastic sheets, trained vendors started using huge umbrellas as a “tag”, representing

“healthy”food.Somestreetfoodvendorshadstartingusingapronsaswell.Vendorsalsokeptsteelwater

drumsanddisposableplatesforservingfood(Shams,2004).Vendorsdecidedtomanufacturetheirspices‐


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thespiceswillhavenoaddedcolor.Therehadbeendrawnguidelinesforthevendorstocleantheirnails,to

wear clean clothes and prober handling of food. A doctors’ association has been roped in to carry out

periodiccheck‐upofvendors(Bandyopadhyay,2004).

Costumerswillhavetopaymore,asthis“extraexpenditure”willaddtotheircosts.Forexample,dosome

foodvendorschargeextrarupeesforuse‐and‐throwplates(Shams,2004).

NationalPolicyOnUrbanStreetVendors2004

The overarching objective to be achieved through the national policy on urban street vendors is to:

“Provide and promote a supportive environment for earning livelihoods to the Street vendors, aswell as

ensureabsenceofcongestionandmaintenanceofhygieneinpublicspacesandstreets”(Ghosh,2005).

The basic objectives of the policy are: Legal, Facilities, regulation, role in distribution, self‐compliance,

organization,participation,rehabilitationofchildvendors,socialsecurity,andfinancialservices(Appendix

6) (Ibid. 2005). It has been shown that there have been difficulties in the implementation of the above

policyfrom2004.ThishasledtothatthePrimeMinisterManmohanSinghin2009hasimpresseduponthe

chiefministerstotake“personal”interesttoensurethattheNationalPolicyonUrbanStreetVendors2009

isvigorouslyandsincerelyimplementedbythestategovernments(ANI,2009).

Theabovefactorsaretheoneswecandealwithatthistimeinourprocess.AnemployerfromHSStoldus

thattheproblemisnowtoimplementthepolicyinthedifferentstatesofIndia.TheHSSarealsoworking

hardbycontacting theGovernment, toobtainan implementationof thepolicy.This isabigstepagainst

acceptanceofthestreetfoodvendorsinKolkatafromalllevelsofthesociety.

ThespecifictasksandactivitiesthatwehaveworkedwithinKolkataarefurtherdescribedinpart2.

Part2

Hygienetheory(Jannie)Fromapublichealthpointofviewthehygienicqualityandfoodsafetyisacrucialdimensionofstreetfood

quality since foods have been recognized to be of low hygienic standards and a potential source of

diseases.

Observingandassessingperformedhygienepracticesfromascientists’outsideviewisfocusingonsources


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ofcontaminationandriskofinfection.HygieneisrootedintheEuropeansanitarianmovementbeginningin

the mid 19th century. At that time the urban growth of western cities and the rapid industrialization

created congested living conditions for the urban populations and caused concerns of public health.

Sanitation and sewage became themain tools in combating endemic contagious by diseases, defeating

them by improving the overall hygiene of the urban environment by removing and limiting the risk of

contactwithdisgustfuldirtandwaste.Thefocusoncontaminationwasreinforcedwiththegreatscientific

revolution of Louis Pasteur and others in themid and late 19th century. Discovering the significance of

microorganisms and their roles in disease transmission, the germ theory became the leading andmost

weightyargumentforenhancinghygiene.Promotinghygienewasfromthenoninevitableconnectedwith

eradicating favorable living conditions and sources of bacteria, parasites and other pathogens (Rosen

1993).

FourhygieniccategoriesWhileincludingalloftheaboveaspectsofhygieneinourresearch,wehavechosentosubdividedifferent

hygienic practices into four main categories like mentioned in the method chapter. Below are the key

hygienepracticeslistedwithineachcategory.

FoodSafetySimple measures such as washing and peeling the food may reduce the risk of contamination with

microorganisms from raw food. Proper cooking kills almost all dangerousmicroorganisms. Studies have

shownthatcookingfoodtoatemperatureof70°Ccanhelpensureitissafeforconsumption.

Microorganisms can multiply very quickly if food is stored at room temperature. By holding at

temperaturesbelow5°Corabove60°C, thegrowthofmicroorganisms is sloweddownor stopped–but

somedangerousmicroorganismswillstillgrowbelow5°C(WHO,2010).

Depending on the nature of the food operations undertaken, adequate facilities should be available for

heating, cooling, cooking, refrigerating and freezing food, for storing refrigerated or frozen foods,

monitoringfoodtemperatures,andwhennecessary,controllingambienttemperaturestoensurethesafety

andsuitabilityoffood(FAOCorporateDocumentRepository,1999).

ImportanthygienicaspectsrelatedtoFoodSafety:

• Separaterawmeat,poultryandseafoodfromotherfoods.

• Useseparateequipmentandutensilssuchasknivesandcuttingboardsforhandlingrawfoods.


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• Storefoodincontainerstoavoidcontactbetweenrawandpreparedfoods.

• Washfruitsandvegetables,especiallyifeatenraw.

• Removeouterleavesofleafyvegetables.

• Cookfoodthoroughly,makesurethatthetemperaturehavereached70°C.

• Reheatcookedfoodthoroughly.

• Donotleavecookedfoodatroomtemperaturesformorethan2hours.

• Refrigeratepromptlyallcookedandperishablefood(preferablybelow5°C)(WHO,2010).

HygieneoftheEnvironmentPotentialsourcesofcontaminationfromtheenvironmentshouldbeconsidered.Inparticular,primaryfood

productionshouldnotbecarriedoninareaswherethepresenceofpotentiallyharmfulsubstanceswould

leadtoanunacceptable levelofsuchsubstances in food.Dangerousmicroorganismsarewidely found in

soil, water, animal and people. Thesemicroorganisms are carried on hands, wiping cloths and utensils,

cuttingboardsandtheslightestcontactcantransferthemtofoodandcausefoodbornediseases(WHO,

2010).

ImportanthygienicaspectsrelatedtotheHygieneoftheEnvironment:

• Protect food and food ingredients from contamination by pests, or by chemical, physical or

microbiological contaminants or other objectionable substances during handling, storage and

transport.

• Wastemustnotbeallowedtoaccumulate infoodhandling,foodstorage,andotherworkingareas

andtheadjoiningenvironment.Wastestoresmustbekeptappropriatelyclean.

• Adequate drainage and waste disposal systems and facilities should be provided. They should be

designed and constructed so that the risk of contaminating food or the potablewater supply is

avoided(FAOCorporateDocumentRepository,1999).

• Waterusedforcleaningshouldbefromasafesourceormadesafe.

• Washandsanitizeallsurfacesandequipmentusedforfoodpreparation(WHO,2010).

PersonalHygieneAsaconsequenceofhumansalsocontainingmicroorganisms,naturallyoccurringorfromthesurrounding

environment,itisincrediblyimportanttomaintainanappropriatepersonalhygiene.


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ImportanthygienicaspectsrelatedtoPersonalHygiene:

• Washyourhandsbeforehandlingfoodandoftenduringfoodpreparation

• Washyourhandsaftergoingtothetoilet(WHO,2010)

• Dryinghandsafterhandwashing

• Wearcleanprotectiveclothing

• Wearheadcovering

• Donotwearpersonaleffectssuchasjewellery,watches,pinsorotheritemsinfoodhandlingareas.

• Beawareofcutsandwounds,theyshouldbecoveredbysuitablewaterproofdressings.

• Avoid personal behaviour such as smoking, spitting, chewing or eating, sneezing or coughing over

unprotectedfood

• Donothandlefoodifknoworsuspecttobesufferingfrom,ortobeacarrierofadiseaseorillness

likelytobetransmittedthroughfood(FAOCorporateDocumentRepository,1999).

FoodandQualityIt is important to takecare in selectionof rawmaterials.Rawmaterials, includingwaterand icemaybe

contaminatedwithdangerousmicroorganismsandchemicals.Toxicchemicalsmaybeformedindamaged

andmouldyfoods.

ImportanthygienicaspectsrelatedtoFoodandQuality:

• Selectfreshandwholesomefoods

• Choosefoodprocessedforsafety,suchaspasteurizedmilk

• Usesafewaterortreatittomakeitsafe(WHO,2010).

• Iceshouldbemadefromsafewater(FAOCorporateDocumentRepository,1999).

Controlofhygiene

HACCPThe potential effects of primary production activities on the safety and suitability of food should be

consideredatalltimes.Inparticular,thisincludesidentifyinganyspecificpointsinsuchactivitieswherea

highprobabilityofcontaminationmayexistandtakingspecificmeasurestominimizethatprobability.The

HACCP‐basedapproachmay reduce the riskofunsafe foodby takingpreventivemeasures toassure the

safety and suitability of food at an appropriate stage in the operation by controlling food hazards. In


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addition, the application of HACCP systems can aid inspection by regulatory authorities and promote

internationaltradebyincreasingconfidenceinfoodsafety.

Food business operators could control food hazards through the use of systems such as HACCP. They

should:

• Identifyanystepsintheiroperationswhicharecriticaltothesafetyoffood;

• Implementeffectivecontrolproceduresatthosesteps;

• Monitorcontrolprocedurestoensuretheircontinuingeffectiveness;and

• Reviewcontrolproceduresperiodically,andwhenevertheoperationschange.

Thesesystemsshouldbeappliedthroughoutthefoodchaintocontrolfoodhygienethroughouttheshelf

lifeoftheproductthroughproperproductandprocessdesign.

Smalland/orlessdevelopedbusinessesdonotalwayshavetheresourcesandthenecessaryexpertiseon

siteforthedevelopmentandimplementationofaneffectiveHACCPplan.Insuchsituations,expertadvice

shouldbeobtainedfromothersourcese.g.regulatoryauthorities.HACCPliteratureandespeciallysector‐

specificHACCPguidescanbevaluable.HACCPguidancedevelopedbyexperts relevant to theprocessor

typeofoperationmayprovideausefultoolforbusinessesindesigningandimplementingtheHACCPplan.

Where businesses are using expertly developed HACCP guidance, it is essential that it is specific to the

foodsand/orprocessesunderconsideration(FAOCorporateDocumentRepository,1999). Italsoappears

that themost important strategy for improving the safety of street foods in Africa is proper training of

streetvendorsusingtheHACCPapproach(Ekanem,1998).

Presentproblemofthisproject(JannieandMarie)Howarethecurrenthygienepracticesandknowledgeofmiddle‐classvendorsinKolkataandare

thereanyhygieneproblems?

- Which challenges and problems is the vendors experience in relation to maintain a good

hygiene?

- WhichinitiativescouldincreasethehygieneofstreetfoodinKolkata?

Clarificationanddefinitioninourresearch(Marie)ThisstudyhasfocusedonmiddleclassstreetfoodvendorsandtheircustomersinKolkataandtheresults

arethereforeforemostvalidforthissegmentofvendorsandcustomers.


16

The analysis has focus on results that show lack of hygiene practices and knowledge. Furthermore, the

research is limited tovendors servingmeals fromstreetbased stands.Theseand similar vendors canbe

consideredas‘middleclass’vendors,sincetheyhaveestablishedkitchensbutarenotconsideredasproper

restaurantsorcafés.Thisgroupischosensotheresearchfittothetargetgroupofvendorsintheprojectof

Innoaid.

Foodhygieneand foodsafetyareexpected tobe lowerwith ‘lowclass’vendorswhoareknowntocook

underlowerinadequatelyconditions.Togetacompletepictureofhygieneandfoodsafetyofstreetfoods

inKolkata,itisabsolutelyrelevanttoobserveandevaluatelower‐classvendors.

ResearchMethods

DatacollectioningeneralQualitativedatawascollectedamongstreetfoodvendorsandcustomersduringfieldworkfromFebruaryto

March in Kolkata, the capital of the West Bengal state in northeast India. Data was collected using

observations,interviews,questionnaireandaworkshop.Seepicturesfromourworkinappendix1.

Data was compiled in handwritten field notes, pictures and recordings during field activities, and was

indexedandenteredinourdatabasesonlaptopsasquicklyaspossibleduringthefieldstudy.

DatacollectionToobtainanoverviewofourdatacollectionandhowtoapproachit,wemadeamatrixofinformationwe

needwithcategoriesdividedintotreelevels;Action,opinionandknowledge(Appendix2).Thisstudyhas

mainfocusinfourselectedcategoriesfromthematrix:

• Foodsafety

• Hygieneofenvironment

• Personalhygiene

• Foodandquality

Thecategoriesarechoseninordertousethevariousmethodsandcollecteddatainconjunctionwitheach

otherandendupwithtriangulationoftheresults.Thereforeallthecategoriesaremoreorlessreflectedin

theobservations,theinterviews,thequestionnaires,andintheworkshop.

It is attempted to identify all areas from different angles and cover the tree levels from the matrix.

Observationsprovideinsightintothecurrentconditions.Interviewsandquestionnairesprovideapictureof

street foodvendors’knowledgeandprofessionalism.Theaimsofthequestionnaireandworkshopareto


17

give insight indifferent levelsofthecategories.Thepurpose istogetdataaboutwhatthevendorsdo in

action(behaviour),whataretheiropinions,andwhatknowledgedidtheyhaveabouthygiene.Thethree

proportions of questions are all necessary to get insight in how the target group act after their own

opinions, knowledge and oppositewhat they in actuality do in action. Furthermore, this can provide an

insight into their own cognitive approach to their problems and what suggestions they have for

improvementsandchanges.Thisisanimportantpartofprojectcollaboration(Rifkin&Pridmore2001).

HygieneTheoryItischosentoincludehygienetheorywhichincludesaquickreviewofhygienehistory‐whichgivesan

understandingofhowpeopledidunderstandtheconceptofhygiene,whyitisimportanttothinkabout

hygieneandimportantaspectsrelatedhereto.

Thenwefocusonthefourcategorieswithinhygiene,whichwehaveincludedthroughoutourstudioin

Kolkata.Intheory,thereadergetsanunderstandingofhowgoodhygienicpracticesshouldbeperformed

withineachcategoryandinpractice,wehavefocusedonthelackofaspectsaccordingtotheperformance

ofthese.

Furthermoreitchosentoincludeasectiononthecontrolofhygiene,asitishighlyrelevanttoqualifythe

practiceswithineachcategory.Andthecontrolofgoodhygienicpracticesmayalsogiveusideasonhowto

obtainabetterhygieneofthestreetfoodvendorsinKolkata.

Observations:Observationsofoccasionalvendorsondifferentstreets in thecenterofKolkatawereconductedthrough

outthewholeperiodandwerepassiveandaswellwithconversationwiththevendor.

Observationswereconductedwalking,standingorsittingnearkitchensandvendingstandsandincludedall

cookingandvendingproceduresaswellasinteractionswithcustomers.Astructuredobservationguidewas

followed with specified categories to observe. Observations were continually indexed according to the

maincategoriesoftheobservationguide(appendix3).

Moreunstructuredobservationsweremadewithalocalstudentasinformant,wherewehadexplanations

ofwhat various dishes consisted of and how they are prepared.Wewere offered to tastemany of the

dishes. This gave the opportunity to ask individual questions to the seller. In these observations, we

recordedtheconversationonadictaphoneandtookpicturesasawaytorememberthevariousdetails.

The main observations were done in Camac Street, College Street and Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose

Road.


18

InterviewsSomeinformalinterviewsandconversationswereconductedwithvendors.

Allinterviewswereconductedusingsemi‐structuredinterviewguidesandfocusedonknowledgeaboutthe

street food vendor’s work in practice, things which where to difficult to see in the observation. It was

attempted to get insight to perceptions and attitudes towards food safety, hygiene of environment,

personalhygieneandfoodandquality.Thisshouldleadtoaunderstandingforwhatthestreetfoodsellers

seeas important factors related to the categories and challenges for the street foodbusiness, customer

relationshipsandcookingknowledge,educationandexperience.Formalinterviewswereconductedusinga

translator because most of the vendors are not sufficiently articulated in English to ensure interview

materialofgoodquality.Questionsandanswersweretranslatedadverbatimsimultaneouslyduringthese

interviews.Permissiontorecordinterviewswasgivenbyallvendorsinterviewed.Interviewstookplaceat

thevendingstandandoftenhadtobeconducted insmall sessions, sincevendorshad toattendto their

work.

The primary intention of using qualitative methods is to draw closer understanding from the vendor’s

viewpoint.Alimitationofthequalitativeresearchinterviewmaybeintheinformants' lackofknowledge,

willandformulationabilitytoanswerthequestionsintheinterviewsituation.

InterviewswithconsumersA totalof7 individual customers (3males)were interviewedon the streetsora café.Customers ranged

between19‐24 years in age, 6 students and1worker. The customerswere recruited around the street.

Respondentswerequestionedonthespotfor10minutesorshorter.Notesweretakenonalloccasionsand

2oftheinterviewswerealsorecorded.Duetocustomersbeinginahurrywhenpurchasingfooditwasnot

possible to conduct all interviews as formal recorded sessions. There is only taken account of the food

safetycategorytolimitthedataasmuchaspossibleandgetthemostrelevantandusefulinformation.All

the interviews were carried out in English. Street interviews were mainly conducted to quickly gain an

insightintomanypeople’sconsumptionpatterns,attitudestowardsstreetfoodqualityandfoodsafetyand

hence serve as basic knowledge to identify core issues and develop guides for later discussions (See

interviewguideinappendix4).

The topic to find out in interviewswith costumers is the pattern of knowledge among consumers, how

consumerschooseastreetfoodvendors,howtheyperceivestreetfoodcomparedtoeatinghomecooked

food, what risk concerns and awareness towards food hygiene and food safety do the consumers have

whentheyeatstreetfood.


19

QuestionnaireAsinterviewswithstreetvendorsdidnotgiveusthedesiredinsightswewantedonhygieneknowledge,we

madeaquestionnaire,sowehedgedourdatamaterialhavebeenvalidatedandusable.Allthequestions

aregroupunderthefourcategories.

Thequestionnairehasbeenprepared in lightof the founding issues throughobservations, conversations

and interviews.According to the constructionof thequestionnaire it is chosen to startwithbackground

questions that are easy to answer (Faarup & Hansen 2008). After questions follow according to the

vendors’opinion,knowledgeandactionissues,paralleltothematrixofinformationweneed.

Asastart,withhelpbystudentsandemployersofHawkerSangramSamity(HSS)union,respondentswere

presentedforthepurposeofthestudyandtheiranonymityofparticipation,toreduceanydoubtandto

obtainthevendors’confidence.Wehandedout25questionnairesofwhich19wherereturned.

WorkshopWhendoingresearchwithlanguageandculturalbarriersthetraditionalwayofcollectingdataisnotalways

sufficient,as inourcasewithinterviews.Toobtainconstructiveinformationandatsametimeget insight

intowhatthevendorsareexperiencingaschallengesandproblemsintheireverydayworkrelatedtothe

fourcategories,aworkshopwasconsideredasagoodopportunitytogetthedataweweremissingfrom

theinterview.

Involvingandcollaboratingwithlocalswhoareintendedtobenefitfromtheprojectaswellasthosewho

be involved and affected by it have been showed to be profitable in many cases. The World Bank’s

ParticipationSourcebookhighlightthat:

1. Local people have a great amount of experience and insight into what does not

work,andwhy.

2. Involving local people in planning projects can increase their commitment to the

project.

3. Involving local people can help them to develop technical andmanagement skills

andtherebyincreasetheiropportunitiesforemployment(Rifkin&Pridmore2001).

Thiswayofcollectingdataisnotusualrelatedtoresearchproject,butinthiscasewefounditnecessaryto

makeuseofothermethods.Itisalsoagoodchancetoseeproblemsformtheirpointofviewandgetting

theirideasonhowsomeproblemscouldbesolvedandwhattheythinkcouldhelptomaketheirsituation

betterthannow.


20

WithhelpfromtheHSCunion25vendorswhereinvitedtotakepartintheworkshop.Weinvitedstudents

from Indian InstituteofTechnology (IIT) inKharagpur tohelpwith translating, so theworkshopcouldbe

doneinspiteoflanguagebarriers.EmployeesfromtheHSSunionandthestudentshelpedtranslating.They

cooperatedwiththevendorsinsmallgroups,sothetopicsoftheinformationcouldendwithsomeEnglish

materialtofurtheranalyze.

Maintopicsoftheworkshopwastofindout:

‐ Whatthevendorsseeaschallengesandproblemsrelatedtothefourcategories.

‐ What the vendors think could help them solute or make the circumstances better in these

challengesandproblems.

Theworkshopwas divided in two parts: first they discuss one category in each group and describe the

topicsofproblemsonapaper.Second,thismaterialwasgiventoanothergroupforthentofindasolution

totheproblems.

Dataanalysis(Marie)Thischapterwillgothroughthemostimportantresultsineachmethod

ObservationTypeoffoodvended:

Weobservedmanydifferentdishesbeingprepared, throughourobservationwefoundmost Indianfood

onthestreets.Thedishesrepresentedallkindoffoodfromtheworldincludingalmostallkindoffoodof

differentIndianstates.

Foodsafety:

Thereweresomedeviationsinthestandardoffoodsafetyamongthevariousvendors.Someclearlyhave

somehygienepractice,theywashdishesinhotwater,usingsoap,wearingapronandcovertheirfoodvery

carefully. But in general the same problem was observed around the streets. The frequent remarks to

encounterweresuchasnon‐coveredfoodandcommoditiesstoredinopenboxesorinwhatevertheyhave

availableofpots,pans,bucketsetc.,nouseofutensils,dirtytowels,cleaningofboards,plates,cupswas

oftendonebywipingit“clean”withcloths,whichwereoftendirtypiecesoftextiles,tableswithleftoverof

oldfoodandthetreatofnon‐cookedfooddirectlyondirtytablesandworstcaseongroundwithhighrisk

ofcontamination.Somevendorsuse lidorglassplatestocoverthecookingpots,but itwas far fromall.

Oftendoughwasplaceduncoveredinabowlordirectlyonthetablecoveredwithatowel,oftendirties.In


21

the worst cases we observed the raw uncooked food and dough was placed in front of busy traffic by

costumersandcars.

Coolingandheatingfacilities:Coolingof food isaveryweakareaforstreet foodvendors inKolkata,which issimpleduetothe lackof

economicresourcesandfacilityatstreetlevel.Inafewplacestherewasusedlargeiceblockstocoolthe

foodalthoughthiswasararesight.Incontrasthereto,heatingandcookingfacilitiesislesscumbersome.

Manyoptions suchas gas, coal grill, clayovens, anda simpleTandorioven couldbe seenaround in the

streets.

It was difficult to have insight in how long time the food have been in the pots and how often they

reheated the food, atmany places they served the accessories unheated. Another impressionwas that

buyingfoodlateisassociatedwithhigherrisktohavesomefood,whichhasbeenstoredtoolongwithout

refrigerationorheating.Often vendors cook largeportionsof foodandbring it to the vendingplace for

store and sell throughout the day so food served in the evening time have therefore typically been on

displayunder tepid temperatures formanyhoursandmaybebeenre‐heated forashort timeduring the

day.Mostofthefastfoodvendorsreheattheirfoodbyfryingitjustbeforeservingwhereassomevendors

donotreheat.Chickenwasoftenservedcoldortepid.

Hygieneofenvironment:

Thelargerandmorebustlingstreetsareingenerallookmoreorganizedandneatthanthesmallnon‐traffic

streets.Thetidystreetshavedustbinsatthevendingplaces inadditionto intheworstplaceswherethe

usedplatesandcups layon thegroundsideby sidewithgarbageand leftovers fromcommoditiesoften

piled up in the drain. Many flies, small cockroaches and crows where everywhere around the stands,

people aroundandneardidnotworry about them. The crowseat leftover food indrains, garbagebins,

sittingonparasolsandiftheygotthechancetheyalmostsatonthetopofthecommoditiesandfood.Most

vendorshavecoveredtheirstandwithsunshadesor inotherwaytryingtoavoidthesun,dustandbirds,

onlyveryfewhadnot.Unfortunatelymanyplacestheydidnotcoverthechartproperly,leadingtoariskof

birddroppingsandotherdirtfromtheair,whichcancontaminatethefoodandsurroundings.Wedidnot

seeanypublictoiletfacilitiesintheareaswithstreetfoodandverypoorsanitationanddrainagefacilities

were accumulating to thepotential dangerof cross‐contaminationduring cookingprocesses. Fewplaces

have no drainage and some places it was clogged by garbage so streams of dirty water from the dish

washingandcookingwherefloatingonthegroundaround.Moststreetshaveoneormorewaterpumps,


22

where water was pumped from the ground and loaded into containers and cans for transport to the

vendingplace.

PersonalHygiene:In someof themoreorganizedandbustling streets itwasmore frequently to find vendorsusing apron,

wearingcleanclothesanddoinghandwashapartfromuseofsoap.Butmostvendorswherenotobserved

towashhands regularly.The riskof foodcontaminationwas increasedby thecommonpracticeofusing

handsforservingfoods.Mostvendorsusedhandsforservingthereadymealstosomeextende.g.when

grabbing chapatti or saladswith hands.Many vendorswore fingerings, touchedmoney several times in

between touching the foodwithouthandwash, e.g. a vendormakingbreadhad flour anddoughonhis

handswhenheacceptedpaymentandafterhecontinuedthecookingwhereasanothervendorusedhands

tograbthecookedmeatfromaboxandfollowingdriedhishandsinadirtytowel,afterwhichheprepared

areadymealforservingwithhishands.

Foodandquality:

Ingeneralthefoodandcommoditieswas lookingfreshandatsomeplacesyoufindafreshsmellofnew

bakedbreadorspicesintheair.Atvendingsiteinfrontofbusyandbigroadsthefoodhadalesserfresh

smellbecauseofthepollutionfromcars.Theworstsituationtherewasobservedwasdoughwithacrustof

dustandpollution,togetherwithmeatlookingverydryandold.

The fruit vendors regularlyputwaterover their fruit andvegetables for that reason they look freshand

appetizing.Thisisabigissueduetothefoodsafetyifthewaterisunhygienic.Fewvendingdishese.g.Chart

wasobservedtohaveaveryunnaturalyellowcolour.

None of the stands had direct access to portablewater so they collectwater frompublic pumps in the

neighbourhoods.However,allvendorsfoundittroublesomeandverytimeconsumingtomanuallygoand

getwaterseveraltimesaday.Atthemoreorganizedvendingsites,thevendorhadcoldwateravailablein

bucketsfordishwashing.Dirtyplates,cups,utensilsetc.werewashedinsoapywaterandrinsedwithclear

water.Buttheamountsofwateravailablewerelimitedandwaterwherenotshiftedregularly.Plateswere

therefore often greasy afterwashing and likemany other places theywere dried cleanwith a towel or

clothes.

InterviewswithvendorsThe data from interviews with vendors are not usable. We unfortunately experienced problems with


23

students who functioned as translator between the vendors and us. Despite a short thorough briefing

beforewewentoutonthestreets,thestudentsfounditinappropriateandembarrassingtoaskquestions

regardingtothevendorshygienewhenfacedwithit.

Interviewswithconsumers:

CriteriaforchoosingavendorTheoutcomeof interviewingcostumershasshownagreathomogeneityofperceptionstowardshygiene,

nutritioncleanlinessandsocialvaluesofstreetfoodswhenaskedandreflectinguponhowtheychoosea

vendor.InformantswereallfromthemiddleclassandupandperformverygoodEnglish.Wheneatinga

mealitisknownthatthesensorypartsuchastaste,look,smell,consistencyetc.hadagreatimportancefor

theexperienceofameal.However,tastewasofhighlyprioritybymostofcustomers.Itwasinmanycases

rankedasoneofthemostimportantcriterionwhentheybuystreetfood:

‐“I look for theplace isclean, stuffaroundthecartand things like that.But themost

importantisthetaste”,‐“Italsodependsonthetaste”,‐“Thetasteismostimportant”,‐

“ Nr 1 preference is the taste, it´s important that the food is tasty. The second is

cleanliness”, ‐ “Notdirtyand then the taste”.–“The taste– more spicy”, ‐ “…street

foodismoretasty”.

Although customers expressed a concern for the hygiene aspect, taste is still themost importantwhen

choosingfood.Thesensorycriteriaoftastewerethereforequiteincorporatedintotheexperienceofeating

foodbutalsorarelyafactorfortestingandtrustingvendors.Manyconsumerschoosetobuystreetfood

fromaknownvendorandasocialbondtoaknownvendorseemstobeoneoftheinfluentialfactorswhen

choosingatrustedplacetoeat:

‐“Wehaveknownthevendor foryears,nowweknow it issafe”,‐“Thesamevendor,

becauseoftaste”,“Thesamevendors,whenyouknowitsgoodwhythoseanother”,‐If

welikesomeplacewegotherealot”,‐“IffoodisnotgoodIshift”–“Weknowtheplace

andgothere”.

Thereasontoeatstreetfoodisalsodependedonsocialfactorssuchasgoodcompanywheneating:


24

‐“Withfriendsandfamily”,‐“Totrysomedifferent.Butalsowhenyouhangoutwith

some friends, it’s good as a snack”. –“Social aspect, with friends and family. Never

alone”.

FoodsafetyandknowledgeMostoftheinterviewedcostumersexpressthat it iscommontobecomesickofstreetfood.Theyhadall

tried to or heard about someone became sick of street food. Despite the knowledge that a certain risk

associatedwith eating street food, all informants eat it at least once aweek and some every day. The

mentionedtransmissionsthecostumersarefamiliarwith:

‐“Thetransmissioncouldbe inthewater,handsandlocationwithmanypeople”,‐“…

could be from not clean equipment. Not fresh food, sometimes the ingredients are

rottenandtheyreusefoodinseveraldays”,‐“Thetransmissioncouldbethevendorhim

self”.

Mostpartsoftheinformantsdonotseeanystreetfoodbeingmoreunsafecomparedtoothers.Onlyone

mentionthatdeepfriedfoodandhotfoodissaferthancoldfood.Askingaboutwhatcanbedonetoavoid

becomesickandwhattolookforalsotellalittleaboutthecostumer’shygieneknowledge:

‐“The vendor could use fresh material and clean water”,‐“ Wearing gloves. Prober

arrangementwhentheyprepare”,‐“Usefreshmaterialandcleanwater”.

‐“ look out for facilities and ask the vendors”, ‐ “Go the right places”, ‐ look out for

facilities”,‐“Havecleanhandsbeforeeating,youeatmostfoodwithyourfingers”

‐“Idon’teatcutfoodandvegtables”,‐“Iavoidcurdprouducts,theygetoldfaster”,“I

don’teatDahl.Andalsotryingtoavoidoil,theoilisreallybad.Badquality.Theyreuse

theoilformanythings”,‐“Alwaysavoidfruitsandlimejuice.Youneverknowwhatkind

ofwatertheyareusing”.

Thistellsusthatcustomersareawareofcertainhygieneaspects,suchaswashingofhandsbeforeeating,

andavoidinguncleanwaterandvendorswithpoor facilities.The interviewsgave insight in things,which

aredifficulttosee,suchasreusingoilandaddingthefooddangerouscoloursoitlookmoreappetizing.In

thiscontrastthetastecomeintothepictureofanessentialcharacteragain:


25

‐“Wecandovery little.But it isourdecisionwhichvendorwechooseand I think the

cleanvendorshavemorecostumersthanothers.Butifthefoodisnottasty,peoplewill

notcomeevenifit’sacleanplace”.

UpgradingknowledgeWaystoimproveknowledgeonhygienearenotmentionedbymany.Fewmentionthattheyobtaintheir

knowledgefromthemediaandschoolcampaigns.Campaignsinpublicorfromthelocalauthorityhappen

veryrare.Searchingfortheinformant’sperceptionsonhowhygieneknowledgecouldbeobtainedwell,the

answergavesimilarresults:

‐“ I think in schools. Maybe. There could be a course in nutrition where you could learn about

hygiene”,‐“Youngpeopleareconcernedabouthealthnowadays.Puthygienesignsonthestreets”.

‐“Themedia,TV…Iftheydonothave,Ithinktheradio”.

Moredirectquestionsonwhatcouldmakethehygienebetterinfuturegavealittlebetterresponse:

“Safematerial,cleanwater”,‐“Stopfoodadulteration”,‐“Inrespecttothecleanliness,I

thinkyoumaycouldhaveapriceceremonyeveryyear.Akindofanaward,whoisthe

mostcleanvendor,apricewinner”.

Vendorsarenotalwaysdoingwhattheyaresupposetodointheirhygienepractice,sometimeitisdueto

lackofknowledge,manytimes it isduetothehygienepractices ismoretimeconsumingandcostsextra

resources.Seeallanswersfromcostumerinterviewinappendix4.

QuestionnaireandworkshopThefillingofquestionnaireandtheworkshoptookplaceattheHSSunionsofficeFriday12thmarchat6pm.

Itwasaverysmallplacetoarrangefor25people,soduringtheeventweallweresittingontheflourtoget

spaceforeveryone.

QuestionnaireWewillnotdeeplyanalyzeallanswersfromthequestionnaireinthischapter.Seethecompletescheduleof

allanswersinappendix7.Thequestionnaireshowsthatthestreetfoodvendorsbasicallyhaveknowledge

ofhowtopracticegoodhygieneandmanyofthequestionsareansweredsimilar.Aninterestingareainthis

questionnaireistolookatapossibledifferenceinresponsebetweenvendorswhohavereceivedhygiene

trainingcomparewiththosewhohavenot.


26

FoodsafetyMostofthevendorsseestreetfoodgenerallyassafe,allrangedtheiranswerbetween8and10,where10

isalwayssafe.A littledifferenceintheopinionabouthoweasy it istokeepthestreetfoodsafe,butthe

majorofanswerslayintheeasyend.

In preventing the food from getting contaminatedmost of the vendors’ answered that they cover their

food,keepithotandclean.

Figure1showsthatmostofthevendorsuseutensilswhentheyservetheirfood.

Figure1

ThosewhoanswerSometimesorNoallarevendorswhohadreceivedhygienetraining.Thevendorswho

didnothavereceivedanyhygienetraininghaveallansweredYes.

Figure2showsthatthereisabigdifferenceinthevendors'opinionaboutithasconsequencetotouchthe

foodafteritiscookedandwhileserving.

Figure2

Both trained and not trained answered bothYes and No. There is no difference in this sense in light of

whether you have received hygiene training or not. Remarkable in the followed comment is that one

0

5

10

No Somesmes Yes

Useofutensilsinserving

NoHyg.Training

Hyg.Training

0

5

10

No Yes

Doesitmatterifyoutouchthefoodaftercooking/whileserving?

Nohyg.traning

Hyg.training


27

vendorsaysthatthereasonhenottouchthefoodistokeepthecostumerhappy,anothercommentsthat

it’shardtoprepareuntouchedfoodwhichtastegood.

InthequestionHowimportantdoyouthinkitistoreheatfoodifitisgettingcold?Onevendoransweritis

notimportant,therestrangetheiranswerfrom7to10as10isveryimportant.

ThelastquestionCanyouthinkofanypractisethatwouldmakeyourfoodsaferbutisdifficulttoperformat

yourcurrentlocation?followinganswerareinterestinginthiscontext:

If I coulduse coolingequipment I couldbebetter.But it is not impossible inpavement,Needpermanent

structuretokeepfoodsafeandNeedbetterequipment.

IntheresultsofthisHygieneoftheenvironmentthereisnothingimportanttoremarkfurther.

PersonalhygieneFourofthevendorshadansweryestoHaveyoueverhadanyhealthproblemsrelatedtofoodyourself?.

Figure3belowshowsthat10ofthevendorswhoreceivedhygienetrainingonlywashhandssometimes.

Figure3

FoodandqualityInadditiontothequestionwhatdoyoulookforwhenyoubuyfoodingredients?Manyanswerquality.In

thisresponsedetaileddescriptionofwhatqualitiestheylookforareneeded.Twomentionsthattheyare

lookingforsizewhenbuyingcommodity.Sincethecategoryisonlyrepresentedshortby2questionsinthe

questionnairethereisnomoreofimportance.

WorkshopDuring theworkshopeachgroupwasdiscussinganextra category than firstexpecteddue tohalfof the

vendorshadventhome,theyhadlongwayhomeandhadtogetupandworkthenextday.Treegroupsof

treeorfourvendorsineachwerediscussingthecategories.

024681012

Beforeeverynewcustomer

EverysmeIhavetotouchdifferentfood

Somesmes

Howoftendoyouwashyourhands?

Nohyg.training

Hyg.training


28

Not all the plannedmaterialwas discussed.We could sense that the vendorswere tired andnot in the

moodtodiscussingroups.Therefore,weputemphasisonwhatweconsidertobethemostimportantdata

to collect; which mainly was what they experience as challenged and problems in the everyday work

relatedtothefourcategoriesandthentheirsuggestionforhowitcouldbesolved.

FoodsafetyInthefirstroundthegrouphaverangedthemostimportantthingstocareforinrelationtokeepfoodsafe:

1. Keepfish,meatandvegetablesfresh.

2. Havefreshwater

3. Washthevegetableswithfreshwater

4. Cookingareashouldbeclean

5. Keepfoodwarm,minimum65degree.

Inthediscussiontheyrangedtheirfivebiggestproblemsinrelationtofoodsafety:

1. Reheatingthefood,morefuelisused

2. Whenweusingre‐cycleplateswehavetoconvincethecostumertopayextra.

3. Cleaningutilisesregularlyduetocontamination

Secondroundanothergroupdiscusshowtheythinktheycouldsolvetherangedproblemsfromfirstround

andofcauseaddotherproblemstothecategory.

Thesecondgroupadfollowingproblems:

• Keepthefoodinapropertemperature,

• Workingcapitalthatisnecessarytomaintainfoodsafetyprocesses.

Vendor’ssuggestiononhowsomeoftheproblemscanbesolved:

1. Usingthere‐cycleplatesisthebestandahealthyoption

2. Cookedfoodshouldbekeptabove65degree

3. Boilrawmaterialtokillanyinfections

4. IncaseofmicrofinanceweneedtohavesomemicrofinancefrombankorNGO.


29

HygieneofenvironmentThe first roundthegrouphaverangedthemost important thing tocare for in relationtohygieneof the

environment:

1. Hotwaterisnotavailable

2. Openskypreparation.Bacteriaanddustareinthearea

3. Drainproblems

4. Drinkingwaterisnotsafe

5. Washclothesisdifficulttoperform

Thesecondgroupadfollowingproblems

• Keepthehawkingareaclean,thesweeperdoesn’tshowupintime.

• Wastemanagementbycorporation,manythecookingplacesaredirty.

• Dustduringwindsandsummer,

• Wastedisposal

• Needbettersanitation

Vendor’ssuggestiononhowsomeoftheproblemscanbesolved:

1. Needprobersanitationfacilitiesfromthegovernment

2. Tokeeptheareacleanwecanusecommunitymanagementorlocalauthoritymanagement.Incase

of waste management we need to consult with the local corporation. Unions have their own

sweepers.4sweepersinchowrangeeroad,russelstreet,elginroadandcamacroad.Weneedmore

intheotherroads.

3. Monthlysalarythroughcontribution

4. Havetoinstallcompositepit

PersonalhygieneInthediscussingtheyrangedtheirfivebiggestproblemsinrelationtopersonalhygiene:

1. Health.Itisdifficulttohavemedicalsoyougetquickhealthy

2. Washhandsprober.Washincookingcenter.

3. Manpowerproblem

Thesecondgroupadfollowingproblems

• Vendorscannotaffordtobesick,havetoworkevenwearefillingunhealthy


30

• Difficulttoalwayshavecleanclothes

• Keepthevendorandserverhandsandnailclean

Vendors’suggestiononhowsomeoftheproblemscanbesolved:

1. Cookshavetobeoffgoodhealth

2. Needapron,capandpersonalhygieneforcookandserver

3. Needrestriction

FoodandqualityThefirstroundthegrouphaverangedthemostimportantthingtocareforinrelationtofoodandquality

1. Tobuyandkeepvegetablesfresh

2. Goodqualityspices

3. Providingmineralwatercostmore

4. Watersupplyfromcorporationisnotefficient

Inthediscussiontheyrangedtheirfivebiggestproblemsinrelationtofoodandquality:

1. Procurementsofrawmaterial

2. Availabilityofrawmaterial

3. Seasonalvegetables

4. K.M.C.waterisnotallowedalltime

5. Useofbrandedspicesismoreexpensive

Thesecondgroupadfollowingproblems:

• Freshnessandqualityofrawmaterials

• Hotwaterwashingofutensilsandrawmaterials

• Availabilityofsafewaterforcooking

• Vitamincontentdecreasesduetoreheating

• Availabilityofhealthyspices,

• Colourinreasonableprice.It isdifficulttobysafecolourtoagoodprice,andthecheapones

aredangerousforthehealth.

• Transportation


31

Thevendor’ssuggestiononhowsomeoftheproblemscanbesolved:

1. Needcleanwater,which ischeaplyavailable.Forsafewaterweneedtonegotiatewiththe local

peopleatthevendingplaces.

Theaboveshowsthatthecategoriesisdiscussedingreaterorlesserextent,butasarule,theyhavegivena

constructivematerial,whichwillbeincludedinthelaterdiscussionandsolutionsinsectionxx.

BiasThereareworthmentioningmarginsofthisfieldstudyandsomebiaseswererecognizedduringandafter

fieldwork.Thesewillshortlybementioninthispartdividedintoeachmethodofdatacollection.

GeneralThestudentsandunionemployershadnoexperience intranslationprocessesbuthadbeenoperateand

doneresearchersconductingsimilarfieldwork.However,translationbiaswasprobablystillpresentinsome

degreeintheinterviews,questionnaireandworkshop.Tolimittranslationbiaseseachguidewaspresented

andbriefedinadvancetothetranslator.

Throughouttheprojecthasonlymalestreetvendorswereincluded,sincewomenwereararesightinthe

sector.Butthismightnothavethebiggestinfluenceonourresults.

ObservationObservationsarealwaysinfluencedbytheresearchersownagendaandabilitytounderstandthesituation.

Theyare“subjective,becausewhatwesee(ordonotsee)isinfluencedbyourowncultureandexperience”

(Rifkin 2001:44). Some of the observing might give a wrong impression since the observer does not

understand the setting and underlying cultural reasoning. Being a white, western and none Bengali

speakingperson,possiblysets limits towhatwecanobserveandunderstand inthestreet foodsector in

Kolkata.

During observation vendors seemed to be concerned about being observed by twowhite girls. Itwas a

challengetodoobservationsinarespectfulandeffectiveway.Thedilemmawashowtogetcloseenough

withoutdisturbingthevendorandhowfarawaytogowithoutmissingoutimportantbehavioursorgiving

thevendorschancetocoverpartsofthefoodprocedures.Takingoutanotebookcouldintimidatevendors.

Insteadweaskforpermissiontotakepicturestoreconstructandtorememberthecircumstances.

Observationsiscompletedprimaryfrom3streetswhichnotarerepresentativeforthewholesegmentof


32

streetfoodvendorsbutobservationsateachvendorhavebeenextensivecoveringawiderangeofaspects

ofvendingstreet foodandtogetherwithnumerous interviewsandconversationsthesehaveproduceda

comprehensive data material from some representative vendors in Kolkata. Furthermore, using

triangulationindatacollectionmethodsstrengthenedthevalidityofresearchresults.

InterviewTranslationandtranscriptionbias isalmost inevitable inanamount.Thelowqualityofrecordings,witha

lot of street noise, sometimesmade it quite impossible to understand the contents and notes from the

interviewswereoftennecessarytocompletethetranscriptions.Thequestionsweaskedthevendorswere

acombinationofwhatweobservedandwhatfittedinthesituation.

Themajorityofinterviewedcustomerswereyoungmiddle‐classstudentsandworkers,whoatestreet

foodsonaregularbasis.Thisselectionprovidesinformationfromthetypicalstreetfoodcustomersegment

infullaccordancewiththetargetofstreetfoodvendors.Butduetothefactthattheywerewelleducated

theymightknowmoreabouthygienethanaverage.Inspiteofthis,itcouldhavebeenrelevanttoconsult

highsocial‐classpeopleandnon‐customersifacompletepictureofperceptionstowardsstreetfoodand

reasonsfornoteatingit.

QuestionnaireWe distributed 25 questionnaires and received 19 back, which is a high response rate and data are

thereforedeemedtobevalid.

Ithastakenlesstimetocompletewithashorterandmoredefinedquestionnaire.Questionsareleftoutin

theanalysisbecausetheyare judgedtobeeitheruselessorsellershaverespondedsimilar.Regardingto

thevalidity, it shouldonlyhadbeenaskedabout themostnecessary ‐and therebyavoid filler.Needless

questionscouldhavebeensortedoutbyperformingapilottestofthequestionnaire(Hansenetal2008).

Itwouldhavebeenanadvantageiftherebeforeeachquestionwasinformedaboutoneormoremarksin

the answer, since therewere different numbers of crosses in the various questions (Ibid). The different

numberofthecheckhasledtowidelydifferentsamplesizes,whichreducesvalidity.

Becauseoftimeandresources itwasunfortunatelynotpossibletodistributequestionnairestothefulla

representativegroupofstreetvendorsinKolkata.Nonefromruralareashadtheopportunitytoparticipate

intheworkshop,whichalsowasthenightwefilledoutquestionnaires.Thevendorsfromruralareasare

oftennotjoinedwithaunionbecausetheydonotvendingatpermanentdaysandlocations.

Thetranslatorsexperiencedalackofknowledgeaboutdistanceandtimeoftransportamongsomeofthe

vendor because they found it difficult to answer this. Some answers were obvious pure guesses and


33

thereforeanswersarenotregardedasbeingcompletelyaccurate.Thisshowsaculturaldifferenceinwhat

weregardassimpleandeasyquestionstoanswerwasnoteasyforstreetvendors.

WorkshopTranscription completed by the translator during the sessions was followed up by question in which

wordingandcorrectnessofthetranslationandnoteswasdiscussed.

Inregardingtotheverylongquestionnairealotofthevendorswentofwhentheworkshopbegan.Forthat

reason the answers we god was discussed by less person than was our attention from the beginning.

EspeciallyonevendorspeakingverygoodEnglishdidansweralotofthequestionsbecauseheentrainedin

allthegroups.Wealsogotthefeelingthatheaffectedtheothervendorsandtheiranswers,whilehewas

basicallytheonetalkingtothetranslator.

Discussionandtriangulation(JannieandMarie)Inthissectiontheanalyzingresultsfromtheabovesectionswillbetriangulatedanddiscussedinthefour

categories.Atleastsomesuggestionsonwhatcouldbedonetoimprovethehygieneintheseresultsthat

aremostcritical.

FoodsafetyIn the observations we saw uncovered commodities in worst case in front of a busy streets, no use of

utensils,dirtytowels,unacceptablecleaningofdishesandequipment,servingof foodwithoutheatingor

coolingwhenitisstored.Inthequestionnairetheresultsshowedthatmostofthevendorshaveknowledge

about how to practice these things right. They know the right answers but in conjunction with our

observations results they did not always perform it right in practice, many express it is due to lack of

financialresourcesandfacilitiesinpavement.Theyalsodescribethattheyneedpermanentstructureand

betterequipment.

Intheworkshopmoreeconomicconcernslikereheatingfoodrequiresmorefuelwasworried.Thisisoneexampleofmanythatduetoeconomicreasons,thevendorscannotmaintainaproperfoodsafety.Ifthey

chargeextraforfoodsafetyreasonstheyhavetoconvincethecostumer.Thisisparadoxicalascustomers’

expressthattheywillpayextraforhigherfoodsafety.Whether it isanapologyduetoknowledgeabout

the practice is not carried out in the best possible way, the reason is that they need initial capital to

upgradeequipmentandresourcessuchastime,isdifficulttosay.

Regularlywash of equipment and utensils with soap and cleanwater, use of utensils while serving and


34

preparing,usecleantowelsandstorageinsafeclosedboxesisagoodsteptowardsabetterfoodsafety.A

proposal could also be a temperature sensor and a form for self‐monitoring of when different serving

dishesareheatedtocertaintemperature.

HygieneofenvironmentTheobservingfounddish, leftoversfromcommoditiesandgarbageonthegroundandpiledup indrains.

Flies, cockroach and especially crowswhere around and very close the stands. The vendors express the

sameproblemsintheworkshop,buttheydiddotmentionanyproblemwithpests.Itcouldlayintheneeds

ofbettersanitationandthewastemanagementbecausea lackof theseattracts thosekindsofpestswe

sawinourobservation.TheHSSunionshavefoursweepersinthestreets,moreisneeded.

PersonalhygieneMost vendors were not observed to wash hand regularly, and rare with soap. Frequently they touch

moneyandrawaswellascookedfoodwhilepreparationandserving.Manyvendorsworefingerrings.The

resultsfromquestionnairessupporttheseobservationsandfurthermoremanywhohadreceivedhygiene

trainingonlywashtheirhandssometimes. In theworkshopthevendorsagainstress thesameproblems,

suchasdifficultyinwashhandproberinthecookingcenter.Almosthalfoftherespondentdoesnotbelieve

that it matters whether they touch the food during serving and cooking. A vendor explains in the

questionnairethatitisdifficulttoprepareuntouchedfood,whichtastegood.Ininterviewswhitcostumers

wefoundthattheyprefergoodtastemorethangoodhygiene.Theywouldratherbuyfromaplacewhere

tasteisgoodalthoughthereisseenlooseonhygiene.

Togetherwiththeresultsoffoodsafetythisagainshowsagoodpictureofpractices,whichgreatlyenhance

theriskofintroduction,growthandsurvivalofpotentiallyharmfulbacteriaandhenceunsafefoods.

In theworkshop the vendors alsoemphasize that theyhave toworkeven theyare fillingunhealthyand

theyfinditisdifficulttogetmedicine.

Regularlywashofhandswithsoapandcleanwaterduringthedifferentactivities isalreadyabigstepto

make thehygiene safer. The vendors could for examplehave a list of things to remember in relation to

keepinggoodhygiene.The list is supposed to inform thevendors inwhich situations theyneed towash

theirhandsandrememberthemtotakeoftheirfingerringsduringtheirwork.


35

FoodandqualityVendinginfrontofabusyroadhaveamoredustandpollutionaroundtheirstand.Thewaterthereisused

tokeepcommoditiesfresh,incooking,towashhandsanddishesarementionasunhygienicseveraltimes

inconversationwithcostumers.Thewatersituationisaverybigissueifthewaterfromthepumpsaround

inthestreetsnotiscleanandsafe.

Related to the resultsofwhat to lookafterwhenbuying commodities itmay skill that there is a lackof

knowledgeaboutwhatqualitymeans,astheyonlyrepliedthattheyarelookingforquality,butnotwhich

qualitiesexceptfromsize.

Costumersalsomentionaissuewithreusingoilofbadqualityforlongtimeandthefoodisaddcolorwhich

notissafe,butmakethedisheslookmoreappetizing.

Anoveralllackoffoodqualityknowledgeseemstobecommonamongvendors,andbeforetheystopusing

oldoilandadding’sintheirfoodtheyneedtoknowwhatconsequencesitbrings,itcouldhelpthemmake

betterfoodwhitabettertaste.

HygienicKnowledge?

ThestreetfoodvendorsTheearlierhygienetrainingshowsthatthingsarenotworkingeventhoughalotofhygienicproblemshave

beenissuedmorethanonce.However,ourfindingsdonotsuggestaneffectfromeducationonactualsafer

food handling practices, such as frequent hand washing or making an effort to keep the cooking

surroundingscleaner.

Itseemslikethevendorsdoknowaboutrightpractices,bothfromourquestionnaireandworkshop,butit

donotmeanthatthevendorsareactuallyperformingtheirknowledgeinthereallife.Oneexampleisfrom

ourobservationsshowsthatonevendorsweptthegutter,whereallwasteispilingup.Thismaybebecause

we stood there and the street vendor has knowledge about the fact that it should look clean and neat

aroundhisstall.Unfortunately,hetookallthewaste,andwhatelsewasinthegutter,withhishandsand

intoabucket.Hewashedhishandsshortlyafter,howeveronlyforafewseconds,andalsowithouttheuse

ofsoap.Thismightshow, that thestreet foodvendorsdomaybenotpracticewhat theyaresupposedto

relatedtohygiene,becausethepracticesaremoretimeconsumingandcostsextraresources.

Accordingtothemodelsafetyzonemodeleachfoodstallshouldhaveabinandeveryzoneshouldengage

asweeper toclean thearea.Wehavebeenobservingandoftenwalked in thesestreets including in the

zones,butnever seena sweeperandunfortunatelynotevenabinatevery street foodstall. This shows


36

thatthereisabigproblemincontinuingtocomplywithnewmeasures.

It isnotpossibletosimplygivevendorssometools inhope, thatthehygiene isbetter for thatreason. It

requirescooperationwiththevendorstoget themtoself‐helptosolvetheirproblems.Workersat JGVK

alsotoldusthatthetargetgroupofthedevelopingprojectwouldgetproudtodevelopownprofessionfor

thebetter.Thereforeitisveryimportantnottoweighsomethingdownonthem,butinsteadgetthemto

worktogethertoimprovehygiene.Thismustbedonethroughworkshopsandtrainingcamps.Theymust

understand the importance of improving hygiene towards themselves and their customers. This is their

livelihood,whichtheywithguaranteewilldoeverything intheworld for.Thisexplainsthattheyneedto

feelameaningbytheirpractices.TheGovernmentshouldprovidesomematerials,whichwillmakeiteasier

for thevendor topracticegoodhygiene,but thevendorshouldalsohavebeenpartof thedevelopment

cycle.Theselectionofresourcesthatwillmakeiteasierforthevendortopracticegoodhygiene,andthe

deeperunderstandingofwhytopracticehygiene,willgivethevendoranacceptanceoftheimportanceof

exercise it inpractice.Vendorsmustbelieve thatbetterhygieneandsanitationwill lead tobetterhealth

andbetterliving.

TheGovernmentshouldalsohelpthestreetfoodvendors–e.g.byprovidingcleanwaterforeverybody.

Whenofficialsencourage rather thanharass, thevendorsaremore likely to invest incarts thatpromote

sanitation,attendsanitationtrainingsessions,orhealth/parasitescreenings.There isa limit,however, to

whatthevendorscanachieveontheirown.Thecitiesthemselvesmustprovidesanitaryfacilitiesandwater

toinsureminimummodernsanitarystandards.IntheModelSafetyZonePeriodiccheck‐upofvendorsare

mentionedasoneoftheimprovementsforstreetfoodvendorsinahygienicperspective.InourvisitatIIT

weweretoldthattheremightbesomeinspectors,buttheydonotcheck‐uponstreetfood,butinsteadat

restaurants,hotelsetc.ThisshowsalackofinitiativefromtheGovernmentsite.Theirimpactsonhygiene

improvementsinKolkataneedtobeupgradedinthegoaltowardsbetterhygiene.

TheCostumersItisimportantforhygieneimprovementsalsotakingintoaccountcustomers'knowledge.Howshouldany

improvement work, if the consumers do not know how to choose between good and bad hygienic

products?

Inthisprojecttheinterviewedcostumersweremainlyfromwhatwecandenoteasthemiddleclass.

Theinterviewsshowthatthecostumershaveagoodunderstandingofhygiene.Regardingheretotheyare

awareabouttheriskofeatingstreetfood.Thisdoesnotpreventthemfromeatingit,butatthesametime

theygenerallywant“better”streetfoodfromahygienicperspective.


37

Ifdecisions fromcostumersareconcisely forchoosingavendoranatural selectionpossiblywilloccuras

eithersortouttheunhygienicvendorsoritmayforcethemtodobetterinthestreetswherecustomersare

critical if theywant to survive.Thebasis for vendorswithpoor facilitiesandhygienecan survive is, that

manypeoplearenotprivilegedtobecritical, inonesimplereasonthattheydonotaffordit.Buthygiene

improvement must start somewhere and knowledge thereof will infect by other vendors and their

customersegmentandinthemanneritwillslowlyraisestandardsatalllevelsofthesociety.

There are also costumers who do not know about hygiene andwho need to be taught before hygiene

improvementswill effort all the vendors. In communicatinghygiene it is important to keep inmind that

perceptionsofhygienearenotonly rooted inmicrobiological reasons,butalsodrawheavilyuponsocial,

cultural and aesthetic values. We have to think about, that all people have a different background,

upbringing,habitsetc.Wecannotjusttellthemwhattodo,whatisrightandwhatiswrong.Theyhaveto

understand why, and the fact that it can improve health. People’s behaviour will only be meaningfully

changedandsustainedifpeopleunderstandandbelieveinhealthconcepts.

General knowledge of household hygiene is important because it shows how people generally think of

hygienestandards.Weweretoldthatgenerallypeople fromIndiathinksthatagarbagecan isdisgusting

becauseitisdirty‐thereforeitisbettertothrowitonthestreet.Thisisanexampleofknowledgeneeded

inrelationto,howthehygieneshouldbedisseminatedtothetargetgroup.Knowledgeabouttheircultural

andsocialunderstandingofhygieneconceptwillalsoleadustoabettersolutiontothehygieneproblems

that are important to address in relation to this particular target group: Find out how all people are

practicinghygiene.Tellthemwhatisrightintheirpracticesandnext,theproblemsaboutthem.Thismight

lead toa solution,whichwillmake sense to the target group. It is necessary to take reservationagainst

whatinrealityispossibleforthetargetgroup,exactlylikethevendors.Thiswayofcommunicatinghygiene

skillswillinconnectiontotheaboveprovide,anunderstandingtowardswhyitisnecessarytochangesome

practice.

MakethehygienevisibleAn importantaspect in improvinghygiene is tomake it visible to theconsumers.Firstofallbecause the

costumersthenhavetheopportunitytochoosehygienicallyandsecondlybecausethevendors’salemight

went up if it is visible, that they perform good hygiene skills. Thiswill therebymotivate the vendors in

followingthegoodhygienicpractices.Evensmall improvementsarestill important inbeingvisibletothe

costumers.


38

Awayofmakinghygienevisibleby the vendor isof coursebypromotinghygienicmeasures in the food

stand.

Anotherwaycouldbewithhelpfromthegovernmentbyimplementingasmileysystem,asweknowfrom

otherplaces in theworld (Find Smiley, 2010).Wewill not go further into this kindof system,but itwill

requireaneffortfrome.g.thegovernmentormaybetheHSS.

Oneofthecostumersstatedthatitcouldbepossibletohaveapriceceremonyeveryyearinrespecttothe

cleanliness.Therecouldbeapriceceremonyeveryyear ‐akindofanaward.Thecleanestvendor is the

pricewinner.Thiswillrequiresameeffortsasthesmileysystemabove.

Whilemakingtheimprovedhygienevisible,itisstillnecessaryalsotothinkaboutthequalityandtasteof

thefoodasmentionedinthecostumerinterview.Itisimportantnotonlytothinkabouthygienicpractices

tokeepcostumersandgainprofit.

AtmosphereThemoodandatmospherearoundthewholestreetfoodsectorisimportanttomaintain.Therelationship

betweenthevendorandhiscostumer isan importantaspect.The“close”relationshipmakethevendors

accepthygienetrainingeasierbecause,thatthevendorsfeels like“housewives”whowantstogiveclean

foodtotheirfamily(BBCNEWS,2005).

Wehadthesamefeelingonourobserving.Thebusinessmenandallthestreetvendorsweresohappyand

niceagainsteachother.Theytalkedaboutmanythings,andononeofourobservingwiththehelpfroma

translatorweweretoldthatyouactuallygetafriendshipwiththevendors.Theyaskyouaboutyourfamily

andstufflikethat.Inthatwayitmostalsobeparamountforthevendorsthattheircostumers/friendsdo

notgetsickfromthefood.

TheatmospheremaymaybealsoberuinedifthegovernmentareputtingaWesternstampontheentire

sector,e.g. it is impossible to finddosa in thestreet foodsector inParkStreet.Thebigproblemscanbe

causedbythebigfastfoodchains,suchasMc.Donald’s,KFC,ect.Iftherelationshipbetweenvendorand

costumerisdistanced,thevendorsmightnotfeeltheneedtotakecareoftheircostumersinrelationto;

hygiene,tasteandqualityofthefood.

Whatcanmakeithappen?Firstofall, it isnecessary,thattheNationalPolicyonUrbanStreetVendors2009willgetimplementedin

Kolkata.Throughthisthestreetfoodvendorswillgainacceptancefromall levelsofthesocietyandavoid


39

policeharassments.Legalizationwillmakeiteasiertoimplementhygieneimprovements,asstreetvendors

willfeelacceptedinthestreetsceneandthusmightalsofeelanobligationtoliveuptoagoodstandard.

In the hygiene theorywe have included HACCP to show how good hygienic practices are obtained and

controlledinthefoodsectorinothercountries.Wehaveinourresultsfoundsomepointswherethestreet

foodvendorsneedtoimprovetheirhygienepractices,whichisalsothefirststepinHACCP.Nextwehave

triedtodiscusshowtheyactuallycan improvethehygienewhich insomewaysalsoaverysimilartothe

HACCPconcept.

ItcanbeadvantageousinmanywaystoimplementaHACCPsysteminregardingtothestreetfoodsector.

A possible goal for the hygiene improvements for the street food sector in Kolkata could be an

implementationofaHACCPsystem.Thesystemisrecognizedinabigpartoftheworld,andcouldforcethe

sector to growbigger andmaybe get into the internationalmarket. In thatway itwill also upgrade the

wholesociety,alsobecauseofthefactthatthevendorsbuytherecommoditiesfromtheoftenverypoor

ruralpeople,andinthatwayitmaybewouldraiseIndia’seconomybyimprovingeconomicalsituationsin

morelevels.

Conclusion(JannieandMarie)Ourstudiesshowthatthevendorsactuallyhaveareasonableunderstandingofhygienebuttheystilldonot

always practice their knowledge. The street food vendors’ express that it is due to lack of financial

resources and facilities in pavement. Regularly wash of equipment and utensils, use of utensils while

servingandpreparing,usecleantowelsandproberhandwashingareallgoodstepstowardsabetterfood

safety and not especially costly improvements. Lack of these practices can be due to they are too time

consuming.Thisexplainstheneedinessofmaking itunderstandableforthevendors,whythesepractices

are important. This could be done through hygiene trainings and workshops where the vendors are

participatinginthedevelopment.Forexampleregularlywashcanbeimprovedbyhavingalistofthingsto

remember in relation tokeepinggoodhygiene,as longas thevendorsarecomprehendedwithwhy it is

necessary.

Economic concerns also limits the street vendors in some hygienic practices. Therefore somemeasures

needstobesupportedbytheGovernment,butatthesametimeensurethatthevendorsagreethatthe

improvementsareimportant.


40

Another perspective in hygienic enhancement is the costumer, because the vendors are depending on

makingprofit.Thisaspectleadstothatthecostumersneedstoknowabouthygienelikethevendorsand

forthatreason it isnecessarytomaketheyhygienicpracticevisible fortheircostumerse.g.bya“smiley

system”.

ToobtainhygienicimprovementsmentionedinthisprojectatthestreetfoodsectorinKolkata,itisfirstof

allnecessarythattheNationalPolicyonUrbanStreetVendors2009willgetimplementedinKolkata.This

willlegalizethevendors;theywillfeelacceptedandproudofwhattheyaredoingandthereforealsomake

themwanttoliveuptocertainhygienicstandards.Besidethisthereareneedsofbettersanitationandthe

waste management have to be regulated by the government in the development of better hygiene

standardsinKolkata.

AfuturegoalofthehygieneimprovementsforthestreetfoodsectorinKolkatacouldbean

implementationofaHACCPsystem,whichcouldupgradethehygieneinmorelevelsofthesocietyand

therebydecreaseillnessanddeathcausedbyunhygienicfoodinsecurity.

PerspectivesAlotofthingsarestillgoingtobedoneinrelationtoimprovethehygieneatthestreetfoodsectorin

Kolkata.Firstofallourfindingscanbediscussedwithpeopleofinfluenceofmakingtheseimprovements.

Thekeyinformantsrelationheretocane.g.rangeourfindings.Itshouldrangefromwhatcanbedonenow

towhatisthefinaltarget–likeaHACCPsystemmaybe.Thesekeyinformantsalsohaveabetterpictureof

whatispossibletoimplementandwhatisnot.Thesepersonsarealsotheoneswhocanmaketoproject

happeninreality.ThekeyinformantscouldbesidesrelevantpersonsinIndiaalsoincludeinternational

organisationse.g.FAOandWHO.

FurtherstudieswithfocusonthehygieneofstreetfoodvendorsinKolkatashouldalsotakeintoaccount

wherethestreetfoodvendorsgettheircommoditiesfromandthequalityofthem.Thehygienic

perspectiveshouldcoverthewholefoodchaintobeoptimal,thusfurtherstudiesshouldalsolookat

hygienicaspectsofthestreetfoodvendorscommodities.

Anotherrelevantthinginregardingtomakefurtherstudiesis,howtocommunicatehygieneknowledgeto

thetargetgroup.Wehavefoundsomeideasonhowtooptimizethehygiene,butwehavenocompetence

incommunication.


41

Knowledgeandmethods

Throughoutprojectinpractice,wemainlyappliedknowledgeandmethodologyfromourBachelor’s

degreeandfromthecourseHygieneandSanitationofourcurrentMScinGastronomyandHealth.

Knowledgeusedfromdifferentcoursesisshortlydescribedbelow.

SociologyandAnthropology

UsedknowledgeaboutsocialandculturalaffairsintheIndiansociety.Analyzedactors,structuresand

processesinvarioussocialandculturalgroupingsandcommunities.Forexample,welookedat:

• Culture

• Food

• Consumption

• Training

• HealthandPrevention

• Healthandenvironmentalconcepts

Communication

Usedknowledgeandunderstandingofcommunicationprocesses

ScientifictheoryandmethodWehaveusedquantitativeandqualitativemethodstocriticallyassessexistingstudieswithinstreet

food.Furthermore,wehaveplanned,producedandprocesseddatabasedonownempiricaldataand

studydesign.

HygieneandSanitation

Ourstudyisbasedontheuseofdifferenthygienetheoryfromtheprocessingstepstotheconsumer.

Throughouttheprojectprocesswehaveacquiredprofessionalskillsinrelationtothesolutionof

specifictasksinaspecificworkareaandactionbytranslatingtheoreticalknowledgeintopractical

actionthroughplanning,implementation,evaluation,documentationandmonitoringtasks.


42

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Århus.

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• Rifkin,S.B.,Pridmore,P.2001.PartnersinPlanning,Information,participationandempowerment,

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44

Part3

PersonalLearningReflections

Marie:

Theoverallpurposeofthisprojectinastudycontextwastogainexperienceinapplyingdifferenttheories

andmethodsinaspecificcontext.ProfessionalknowledgefromHygieneandSanitationcoursehasbeen

highlyrelevant.

Wehavelookedatcookingmethods,typesoffood,quantities,storage,coolingandheatingfacilities,

dishes,dishwashingopportunities,wateraccess,toilet‐andsinkconditions,thepresenceofpests,etc.

Whenthesehygienicconditionswhereobservedfromanacademicpointofviewwealsohadtofinda

methodtodofurtherresearchinasystematicway.Theideawithusingthefourcategorieswasourown

andtogetherwithqualitativemethods,Ithinkitwasmanagedtofindagoodorderlywaytoapproachthe

work.

AsastartinourplanningwehadtheideawithinspirationfromRifkinandPridmoresPartnersinplanning

todosomeparticipantobservations.Hereweplannedtoworkwiththelocalvendorsattheirvendingsites

insomeplannedactivities.Inthiswaywethoughtwecouldobservewhatisgoingonandhelpus

understandthevendorsactivitiesfromtheirpointofview.Itcouldhavebeenafunexperienceandagood

waytohaveinsightinvendors’everydaylife.Butthingsaresometimesturningoutdifferentfromplans,

especiallyinIndia.JGVK,thelocalNGOandHSCadviseusnottodoobservationinthisway.Ihavelearned

thatitisdifficulttousemyprofessionalknowledgeinacompletelydifferentculturalcontext.Inthatway,I

havegainedexperienceinfindingotherpossiblesolutionstotheproblemsandusetheoryinadifferent

contextthanusual.

TheexperienceworkingwithInnoaid,gaveagreatinsightintotheorganizationitself,butalsoageneral

insighttoorganizationalcultureandexperiencetocollaborateandcommunicatebetweendifferent

professionsandstudentsfromdifferenteducationswithinthesameprojectwasobtained.Ithasbeengreat

touseknowledgeinpracticetosomethingconstructive.BeyondtheresearchIhavespentmyhygienic

knowledgetoadviseonanewdesignofachartsoitiseasytocleanandpossiblycrackswasavoidto

preventaccumulationofdirtandbacteria.

ThroughthestayinKolkataIobtainunderstandingofIndianfoodcultureandthesocialandpolitical


45

contextthatStreetFoodvendorsareinvolvedin.FurthermoreavisittoIndianInstituteofTechnologyin

KharagpurgavemeashortintroductiontotheIndianstudyenvironmentandinsightinthesocialaspectof

livingonacampus,whichisasmallsocietyofstudents.

DuringmystayIfeltitwasapersonalchallengetosucceedinsuchadifferentculturewherepeoplethink

andactverydifferentlythanwedo.Iobtaininsightandknowledgeofmanyunfairsituationsand

circumstances,whichwasanoverwhelmingexperience.OftenIhadafeelingofpowerlessnessagainstthe

manypoorpeoplewesawinthestreetpicturesinmanyplaces.Ilearnedthatbothpatienceandcourage

wereimportantskillsforsuccessindevelopmentinacountrylikeIndia.TheIndianculturehasinmany

aspectsaverydifferentlogicthanours.Aftergettinginsightintothislogic,itwasmucheasiertomoveand

carryoutplannedactivities.Inthatwaytheprojectgavemegreatpracticeincommunicationandinteracts

withanotherculture.Thelocalpeoplewhohelpedandworkwithus,wereallincrediblyniceand

supportivedespitethefactthattheydidnothavemanyresourcesavailable.Further,wevisitedJGVKin

Sunderbans.Herewegotaninsightintomanyoftheirprojects.Althoughthiswasnotdirectlyrelevantto

ourproject,itgaveusexperienceandinsightintomanythingssuchastheIndiancultureandwhysomeact

liketheydo.Thisbackgroundknowledgehasbeenindispensableandinfluencedthewholecourse.Through

JGVKIhaveobtainedagoodnetwork,ofwhichIcanuseinfuturestudiesandprojects.

Jannie:

Travellingislivingbutinmypointofviewalsolearning.FrommystayinIndia,Ihaveprimarybeenmade

clearhowimportantitistobeadaptableinmanysituations.Irefertobothacademicandeveryday

situations.IndiaisinmanywaysaveryunstructuredcountrycomparedtowhatIamusedtofrom

Denmark.ThisaspectisoneofthemostimportantskillsthatIhaveachievedinrelationtothebusiness

project.

Fromthebeginningoftheprojecttherehavebeenproblemsinconnectionwithstructuringinrelationto

haveclearlydefinedobjectivesforthetask.Wewereunawareabouthowtheworkcouldproceedin

Kolkata.Howshouldwelive?Couldweworkintheresidence?Whoshouldwecontact?Wouldweget

somehelpduringourstay?Etc.Professionally,Ithinkthatsuchexperiencescanbeusedinothersituations

inrelationtofutureprojectsandwork.Itisimportanttocontinueworkingeveniftheplanismodified.

Additionally,infutureprojectsitwillmakebenefitsintryingtobemorestructuredbeforeanytravelbegins

relatedhereto.Wastedtimeonthetripmightbepreventedcomparedtohavingacompletelyfinishedlevel


46

onthedrawingboard,whichincludes:meetings,interviews,employment,housingetc.ofrelevancetothe

projectexecution.

Theabovecompetenciesmayalsobedesignatedasgeneralcompetencies.Itisalwaysanadvantagetobe

adaptableforanysituationsandnotpanicbecausethingsarenotrunningasexpected.AcountrylikeIndia

challengedyouinmanywaysinrelationtothiscompetenceandalsoinregardingtoone’spatience.These

twoaspectscannotbeseparatedinthiscountry.Patienceisoftenlinkedtogetherwiththechangingplans.

LackofInternet,differentworkingconditionsandlastbutnotleastinhabitabletemperaturesisalso

importantfactorstotakeintoaccount,whichdemandsadaptability.Thelastmentionedhadabiginfluence

onmyworkingability,becauseitwasextraordinarydecreasedinrelationtotheeffectivenessofmywork

whenIaminDenmark.

AnotherthingthatIhavelearnedisthedifferentviewthatpeoplefromdiversecultureshaveonhygiene,

andtherebyalsothecomplicationsinhowtoinvolvethisaspectintheprojectandthereforehowto

communicatemyknowledgeabouthygienetopeople.Thisaspectisalsoconnectedtotheprofessional

insightIgotindevelopingwork.Projectslikehandlingwastedemandscorporationfrommanydifferent

professionstobeimplementedinKolkata.Italsodemandsresourcesandwillingnessfromthenecessary

peoplewhohasinfluenceoniftheprojectcanberealized.Itisalsoafactthatdevelopingworktakestime

beforeanychangewillhappen.

FrommystayatJGVKIlearnedalotabouthowimportantitistomakethetargetgroupparticipatinginthe

developingwork.Wegotthetasktodrawuptheirfishingbrewingcontainers,sothepeoplewiththeright

profession,notstayinginJGVK,couldgetanoverviewoftheproblemsrelatedtothisproject.Oneofthe

localtolduseverythingabouttheprojectandalsoseemedveryproudofit–thisisdevelopingwork.From

thisperspectiveitwillnotimproveanyhygieneatthestreetfoodvendorsinKolkataiftheyareforcedto

usesoapdeliveredbythegovernment.Theyneedtounderstandwhytheyshouldusethesoap,inwhich

purposeandalsorelations.Theyneedcompetencesinthisspecificfeltbeforetheimprovementscanbe

integratedinthesocietyandtherebygettingsustainable.Inthereportthisaspectisalsomentioned,butI

highlightitagaininconnectiontothedevelopmentofmyownprofessionalknowledge.

DuringallthestayIgotalotofknowledgeaboutanotherculture,otherwaysofthinkingandhowlifegoes

onwithouttomuchworries(myfeeling)forpeoplewhoarenotasstructuredasweareinDenmark.Itwas

veryinterestingtotalkwithpeoplefromIndia,andalotoftheknowledgeIgotfromthemandmy

expressionsofthecountryareinmanywaysalsoincludedinthisproject.Itwasnotalwayspossibleto


47

writedownalldatainastructuredway(interviews,questionnairesetc.)asIhavelearnedfrommystudies

inDenmark.

TheabovedescriptionincludeswhatandhowIhaveobtainedprofessionalinsightsandgeneral

competencesregardingtomystayinKolkataandthebusinessproject.Theseinsightscanalsobeusedin

myowndevelopmentinbothconnectionwithmyprofessionandpersonality–twothingsthatinmany

waysarecorrelated.Bythisthepersonaladaptabilityandoverviewcanbeveryusefulinmyfuture

professionalpractice.


48

AppendixTableofContents

Appendix1:PicturesfromKolkata……………………………………………….…………48Appendix2:Matrixofinformationweneed……………………………………………51Appendix3:Specifiedobservationschedule…………………..……………………….53Appendix4:Interviewwithcostumers……………………………….………………….56Appendix5:HawkerSangramSamity……………………………………………..……….61Appendix6:NationalPolicyforStreetFoodVendors………………………………62Appendix7:Censusofquestionnaires………………………………….………………..63


49

Appendix1:PicturesfromKolkata

Typeoffood:

Foodsafety:

Storage,treatment,coveringoffood:


50

Enviroment:

Pests: Watersource:


51

Appendix2:

Matrixofinformationweneed

Category Action

(Howtheydo)

Opinion

(Theirmeaning)

Knowledge

(Whatdotheyknow)

FoodSafety Whatdoyoudotomakesurethatyourfoodissafetoeat?

Doyoudoanythingtopreventyourfoodfromgettingcontaminated?(preventthefoodfromgermsanddirt)

Doyouseparaterawandcookedfood?

Doyouuseanyutiliseswhenyouarepreparingandservingfood?

Anysafetypractisethatyouwoulddodifferentlyifyouhadtheopportunity?

Anypractisethataredifficulttoperforminyourlocation?(Whichandwhy?)

Whatisthedifferencebetweensafeandunsafefoodinyouropinion?

Whatarethemostimportantthingstocarefortokeepyourfoodsafe?

Whatcouldbedonedifferenttomakethefoodsafetybetter?

Whichfactorscancontaminatesfood?(Howcangermsanddirtcomeintofood?)

Otherthingofimportancerelatedtofoodsafety?(anyneeds?)

Whyisitimportanttoseparaterawandcookedfood?

Whataretheadvantagesofusingutilises?

Riskperceptionsonfoodsafety

Haveyoueverhadanyhealthproblemsrelatedtofoodyourself?(Whatcanbedonetoavoidsuchsituations?)

Anythingsyouwoulddodifferentlyifyouhadtheopportunity?

Doyouhaveanyproblemsinrelationtoriskperceptions?

Whatdoyouthinkcouldhelp?

Anyideasforchanges?Anyinformationyouneed?Whatarethebestwaystolearnmore?

Therearemanywaysthatgermscanbeintroducedtofood,canyoutellsomeofthem?

Whatcanhappenifvegetablesarenotcleaned?

Doyouknowanydiseasesduetounsafefood?(Whatdiseases,why,whathappenstopeople,etc.)

Isitpossiblethatthevendorhimselfcanbeasourceofcontamination?(whyandhow?)

Coolingandheatingfacilities:

Howarethecircumstancesnow?Howdoyoustoreyourfood?Foodpreparationmethods(howdoyoucook)Cool/heatseveraltimes?Doyouhaveproblemwithhavingoptimalfacilities?Anypractisethataredifficulttoperforminyourlocation?

PositiveandnegativethingsaboutyourcircumstancesAnyideasforchanges?Whatcouldbedonedifferent?Anyinformationyouneed?

Whatisimportantwhenyoustorefood?Whyisitimportanttoheat/coolfood?

Hygieneofenvironment: Whichmethodsareyou Thehygieneofthe Whyisitimportanttoclean?


52

useingforcleaning?(Anyproblems?)Howoftendoyoucleanyourvendingplace?Howdoyoudoyourdishwashing?(anyproblems?)Wheredoyougetwaterfrom?(anyproblems?)Wheredoyougototoilet?(anyproblems?)Wheredoyouwashhands?(anyproblems?)Howdoyoucontrolpests?(Anyproblems?)

environmentofthestand,Whatisimportantinyouropinion?Anyideasforchanges?Whatcouldbedonedifferent?Anyneeds?

Whyisitimportanttocleandishes?Whatisimportantaboutthewateryouusetocook?Whatisimportantabouttheiceyouusetocook?Whyisitimportanttomanagepests?

PersonalHygiene:

Whatareyoudoingtokeepgoodhandhygiene?Inwhichsituationsdoyouwashhands?Howdoyoudryhandsafterwashing?Doyoutakeoffingerringswhenyoucookserve?

Otherpersonalthingsyoudotokeepagoodhygiene?

Whatismostimportantinyouropinion?

Anyideasforchanges?Whatcouldbedonedifferent?

Whyisitimportanttokeepgoodhandhygiene?Whyisitimportanttowashhands?Whyisitimportanttodryhandsafterwashing?

Foodandquality

Wheredoyoubuycommodities?Whatareyoulookingafterwhenyoubuy?(look,freshness,size,smell,colour,origin,seller,priceetc.)Afterhavingpurchasedthecommodities,whatareyouthendo?(howisitcleaned,treated,prepared,servedandstocked?)Howoftendoyouchangeyouroilfordeepfrying?Arethereanypractisesthataredifficulttoperforminyourlocation?

Whataremostimportantwhenyouchoosewheretobuyyourcommodities?Isthereanythingthatyouwoulddodifferentifyouhadtheopportunity?

Whenyoubuycommodities,howcanyoudecideifitgoodenough?Whyisitimportanttochangeyouroilfordeepfry?


53

Appendix3:Specifiedobservationschedule

Category

VendorandlocationinKolkata

Typeoffoodvended

Foodsafety

Treatmentofcommodities,storage,coveringoffood,cleanliness,washing,serving,utensils,Separationofrawandcookedfoods,

Leftoverfood,

Coolingandheatingfacilities:Preparation,practiceofkeepingfoodhotandreheatingbeforesale,

Hygieneofenvironment:Facilities,watersource,Dishes,drainage,garbage,coverofthestand,dirt,dust,ants,flies,animals,children,

Toilet,

PersonalHygiene

Handwashing,drying,jewels,handslook,fingernails,health,wounds,apron,haircover,touchmoney.

Unhygienicbehavior:Spitting,pickone’snose,

FoodandqualityQualityofwaterusedforcooking/washing.Qualityofthecommodities,howtheylook.

Smells

Male

Camacstreet

chapatti Thedoughwasnotcoveredtotally.Itwasadirtytowelonthesideofit,alsousedforthefingers.

Nountenlies

Madethechapattioveragasfire

Alotsofdirtydishes,birdssittingarounditandeatresidues.

Theypumpwaterfromtheground,aplaceawayfromthevendingplace

Thestandwascoveredbyaparasol

Notwashhands.

Thevendorhasafingerringon.

Theyreusethewaterwhentheycleantheequipmentfornextday,andnosoap

Male

Camacstreet

Pucha Thecommoditieswerenotcovered.

Thepotatoeswascookfromhome.

Thevendormashedpotatoesonthevendingplacewhenheneedit.

Thespicywaterusedtoputinside,wasmadeontapwater.

Theplatesweremadeofleaf,organic.

Thestandwasnotcovered

Hedidnotwashhandsbetweentouchingthedifferentingredients.

Nousingofutilises

Lookalittledirty

MaleCamacstreet

Chat(Chickpeasinagravy)

FoodwasnotcoveredHedidnottouchthefood

Washeatedoveragasfire.

Theplatesweremadeofleaf,organic.

Notwashhands.

Hasaveryyellowcolour,mayfromthespice,but


54

withthehands,soitmaybemoresafethanotherplaces

Thefoodwasovercookedbecauseoftheheating

Thestandhasasunshade

veryunnatural.

MaleCamacstreet

Friedvegetablescutlet

Wasnotcovered,

Theyhaverawuncookedfoodstandingonthestreetside.

Nottouchthefoodwiththehandsbeforeserving

Washeatedoveragasfireinoil.

Thecutletswasovercooked,theylayintheoilinlongtime,untilcostumersbye.

Dirtydisheswerearoundtheplace.

Thevendingwasinacart

Therewaswaterpumpedfromthegroundaplacenearby

Nohandwash Theplacesmellsbadofoil(old)

2maleCollegestreet

Chapattianddifferentvegetablesaccessories

Thedoughunderthetablewithatoweltocover.

Thepotshavelid.

Theyusearollingpinandaknifetovegetables,butdirectlyonthetable

Makingthechapattioveragasfire,usingfingers.

Dirtyplatesofsteelbytheside.

Garbageisonthegroundandpiledupinthedrain.

Sunshadecover.

Wear2fingerringes.

Touchmoneyw.fingers.

Usesoaptowash.

Vegetableslookfresh.

Doughlooknewandfresh

MaleCollegestreet

Freshfruit Pelled,inashowcase.

Somewateratthesidetoputoverthefruit,soitlookfresh.

Theshowcaseisclosedwhentherearenocostumers.

Nocooling

Organicplateandwoodsticktoeatwith.

Garbageandplatesisaroundthegroundanddrain.

Wearrings.


Touchfruitw.fingers.Nohandwash.Dryhishandsometimesinaverydirtytowel.

Fruitlookveryfreshandappetizing.

3MaleAcharyaJagadishChandraBoseRoad

Chapattianddifferentvegetablesaccessories,lentils,chickpeasandbeans.

Allpotshavelidsandallpotshaveaservingspoon.Tablearedirty.Oldanddryleftoverfoodareonthetable.Newdough

BreadaremadeinaTandorioven.

Theaccessoriesareserved

Usedplatesstandonthegroundinbowls.Thecleanplatesstandontheground.Cupsandplatesarecleanedindirtywater

Breadtouchw.fingers.Dirtytowel.Wearingdirtyclothes.


Breadfreshmade.

Therestareovercooked,andarenotreheatingall.


55

wasmadeonthestreet,justinfrontofaverybusyroad.

cold. withoutsoap.

Manyfliesaroundtheplaceandonthetableandfood.

Thesunshadedidn’tcoverthestand.

Nohandwashing.

Andverydirtyhandswithflouron.

1female+1maleAcharyaJagadishChandraBoseRoad

DifferentbreadVegetablesaccessories,lentils,chickpeasandbeans.Chickenandfish

Onlyfewpotshavelids,chickenandfishwasuncovered.Verydirtytable.Thericelookdirty.Thedoughlookdusty,uncoveredandhaveencrustation.Vegetablesaretreatdirectlyontheground.Theyarestoredinaopenboxonthedustyroadside.Allpotshaveaservingspoon.Bitsoffoodwassittingoutsidethepots.

Thefoodarepreparedfromhomeandarekeptinpots.

Thepotsareonshiftheatedonlivecoals.

Dishingwaterlookverydirty.Alotsofgarbagearound.Garbageinthedrainstopthewaterfromthewholestreet.

Alotofcrowsittingnearthefood;onthesunshadew.aopeningdowntothefood,onthetoweltodryhands.

Underourobservationtheycleantheirdrain,removinggarbageandoldfoodmudwithbarehands.Thevendoronlyrinsew.wateranddryhandsinthedirtytowel

Handwashincleanwater,nosoap.Rubhishandsverycarefully.Dryhandsindirtytowel.Touchmoney.Blackundernails.

Smellsofcarsmoke.

Thebreadlookmostinviting.

Themeatlookoldanddry.


56

Appendix4:Interviewwithcostumers

(Questionsandanswers)

Howoftendoyoueatstreetfood?

- 1to2timesweek

- 1to2timesweek

- 3to4timesweek..thesameforme.

- Everyordinaryday

- Everyday

Whatkindoffoodandwhatkindofplaces?

‐Chaat,Puchka,Bhelpuri,Thalmnsi.

‐Puchka,Chat..ect.

‐OftenwebuyatRusselStreet,Mostlychaat.

‐Puchka,junkfood,drawbajii,fruits

Howdoyoueatthefood?(atthesite/takeaway/home)

‐Attheside

‐Attheside,sometimeIwillbringithome.

‐Attheside

‐Takeaway

Doyoureheatfoodathome?

‐No

‐Ifit’stakenhomethenyes.Itcouldbedangerousifyounotdoit.

‐No

‐No

Doyoupreferitcold/hot?(searchforperceptionsofhotandcoldfoods)

Cold,itiscoldpreparation

Itdependsonwhatitis.

Depends,theyaremostcold

‐Cold,itiseasytoeat.Eatifitishot

Criteriaforchoosingastreetfoodvendor:


57

Whatdoyoulookforwhenyouchooseavendor?

Popularplaces

Ilookfortheplaceisclean,stuffaroundthecartandthingslikethat.Butthemostimportantisthetaste.

Wehaveknownthevendorforyears,nowweknowitissafe.Italsodependsonthetaste

Aboutthefoodlookyumiornot

Doyoueatatthesamevendors,ordoyoushift?(why/whynot)

Thesamevendor,becauseoftaste.

Thesamevendors,whenyouknowitsgoodwhythoseanother.

Ifwelikesomeplacewegotherealot.IffoodisnotgoodIshift.

Whatpreferencesdoyouhavewhenyouchooseaplacetoeat?

taste,freshness,cleanliness,convenience,distance,time,price,safety,reputation.

Nr1preferenceisthetaste,it´simportantthatthefoodistasty.Thesecondiscleanliness.

Notdirtyandthenthetaste.

taste,freshness,cleanliness,convenience,distance,time,price,safety,reputation.

Thetasteismostimportant.ItisquitehygienicinKolkata

Eatingstreetfoodoreatingathome:

Howwouldyoudescribethestreetfoodincomparisontothefoodyoueatathome?

Streetfoodistastier.Homeitismorehealthyandhygienic

Streetfoodisfaster,youcanhavesomefoodveryfast.Butit’alsorisky,sometimeitupsetyourstomach.Thequalityislow,especiallytheoil.

Homeitisnicer,muchbetter.StreetFoodhaschangetheflavor.

Depends.Qualityisbetteratyourhouse.

Forwhatreasonsdoyoueatoutsideyourhome?

Thetaste–morespicy

Withfriendsandfamily

Totrysomedifferent.Butalsowhenyouhangoutwithsomefriends,it’sgoodasasnack.

Socialaspect,withfriendsandfamily.Neveralone

‐Weareoutsidethehouseandstreetfoodismoretasty.

Foodsafetyperceptionsandbehaviours:

Haveyoueverfallenillfromeatingacertainfoodyourselforhaveyouheardaboutanybody?

heardaboutitwasdiarrhoea

Yes

Yes,heardabout.Ioncehadatstomachupset.

Manytimes.Feverandfoodpoisoning.

Whydoyouthinkithappens?


58

Thestandardandthewatertheyuse

Itupsetyourstomach

Thewaterandthehumidity,specialintherainseason.

Thefoodhavenothygiene

Whatcanbedonetoavoidit?

‐Thevendorcouldusefreshmaterialandcleanwaterallthetime

Don’teatoutsideyourhome

Wearinggloves.Proberarrangementwhentheyprepare.

Usefreshmaterialandcleanwater.

Stopthevendorssellingfoodonstreet.

Whatcantheconsumerdotoavoidfallingsick?

Noteatoutside,eatingwithcleanhands.

Don’teatit

Eatlessstreetfood,andknowthevendor.

Stopbuying

Havecleanhandsbeforeeating,youeatmostfoodwithyourfingers.

Whatcanthesellersdo?

Hygienemaintains

Morehygiene,theycouldcovertheirfoodandvegetables.Alsoremovealltheirgarbage.

Theydon’tcare.Theywillalwayssurvivebecausetherearenobigconsequencesforthemifaconsumerfallssick.

Betterqualityoffoodandmaterial

Whatisasafeplacetoeatforyou?

‐Weknowtheplaceandgothere

Dependsonthevendor.Hehavetowashhandsoften,theplaceshouldbeclean

Absoluthygienic

Lesscrowded

Arethereanyfoodsthatyoudonotbuyonthestreetsbecauseofthefoodsafety?

‐Idon’teatcutfoodandvegtables.

Iavoidcurdprouducts,theygetoldfaster.

Idon’teatDahl.Andalsotryingtoavoidoil,theoilisreallybad.Badquality.Theyreusetheoilformanythings,

Alwaysavoidfruitsandlimejuice.Youneverknowwhatkindofwatertheyareusing.

Doyouconsideranyfoodstobemoreunsafethanothers?

- No- No- Notreally.Butdeepfriedandhotfoodaremoresafethancoldfood.- No


59

Whichdiseasescanyougetfromeatingstreetfoods?

Diarrhoea,jaundice

Thetransmissioncouldbeinthewater,handsandlocationwithmanypeople.

LikeIsaidbeforeitcanupsetyourstomach.Youcanhavefoodpoisinganddigestiveproblems.

Stomachupset,foodpoisoning.Thetransmissioncouldbefromnotcleanequipment.Notfreshfood,

Sometimestheingredientsarerottenandtheyreusefoodinseveraldays.

Diarrhoea,jaundice.Thetransmissioncouldbethevendorhimself

Explaincleanliness.Whatiscleantoyou?

Ilookforthedesk,thewaythevendorsellingit.

Reuseequipmentandstufflikethis.

Foodsafetyperceptionsandbehaviours:

Whatcanconsumerslikeyourselvesdotomakesurethatthefoodissafeforconsumption?

lookoutforfacilitiesandaskthevendors

‐Wecandoverylittle.ButitisourdecisionwhichvendorwechooseandIthinkthecleanvendorshavemorecostumersthanothers.Butifthefoodisnottasty,peoplewillnotcomeevenifit’sacleanplace.

‐Gotherightplaces

‐lookoutforfacilities

Doyousometimegivethevendorsadviceabouthowtocookandserve?Docustomersusuallydothis?(Probeforreasons;why/whynot)

No…Nopersonaleducation

Yes,Idothat.It’sverynormal.Thenyoucanhavethefoodasyoulikeit.

‐Yes,Washhands.

‐Yes–lotsoftimes.Theway,thevendorpreparethefood.

Knowledgeonfoodsafetyandhygiene:

Wherecanpeoplelikeyourselveslearnmoreaboutfoodsafetyandfoodhygiene?

- themedia,healthcampaigns,schools

- Ithinkontheinternet.Buttherearenotmuch.Likethecampaignsyoumention,ithappenveryrare.

Whatarethebestwaystolearnmore?:

‐“Schoolcampaigns”

‐“Ithinkinschools.Maybe.Therecouldbeacourseinnutritionwhereyoucouldlearnabouthygiene”.

‐“Youngpeopleareconcernedabouthealthnowadays.Puthygienesignsonthestreets”.

‐“inthemediaandTV”

‐“Themedia,TV…IftheydonothaveIthinktheradio”.

Future:


60

Didyouhaveanyideaaboutwhatcouldbechangedtomakethehygienebetterthannow?

- Safematerial,cleanwater

- Inrespecttothecleanliness,Ithinkyoumaycouldhaveapriceceremonyeveryyear.Akindofanaward,whoisthemostcleanvendor,apricewinner.

Whocouldarrangethisyouthink?

- Thisorganisationyouworkfromcoulddoit...

- Stopfoodadulteration

Anyideaofwhatcouldgivethevendorsmoremotivationtousesomeextratimetoupgradetheirhygiene?

- Regularcustomers.

- Educatethem.Givethemmoreknowledge,sotheycouldchargemore.

- it’sdifficultbecausetheydonothaveacapital

- Raisingtheprice.Peoplewillpayextra.Inshoppingcentersit’smoreexpencive.

- Iwillpaydoubleifthevendorhavedocumentationonahygieneknowledge


61

Appendix5:HawkerSangramSamity

What is Hawker Sangram Samity (HSS)?

HawkerSangramSamityisanetworkofallmajorHawker’sUnioninKolkatamegapolice,builtup10yearsagointhemidstofastruggleofalltheHawkerstoresistthenefariousattemptoftheGovernmenttoevictthemfromthepavementinthenameofOPERATIONSUNSHINE.UltimatelytheHSSwassuccessfulintheirresistancestruggleintheroadandinthecourttoarrestthegovernmenttotakesuchadrasticdecision,thoughinthemeantime18hawkerscommittedsuicide.FromthenandonHSSmarchedaheadfromonetoanothervictory.

NationalHawkersFederation(NHF)NationalHawkersFederationtookitsbirthinMay2001underthemaininitiativeofHSS.Itisafederationofallhawkersassociationwhoarefightingagainstevictionthroughoutthecountry.Nowithas550independentunionsaffiliatedwith11CentralTradeUnionsofthecountry.NHFhas11.25lakhmembershipsasondate.ItisonethelargestfederationofIndia.ThereisamajorachievementofNHFtocompeltheCentralGovttoadoptoneNationalPolicyonHawkers.Itstillneedsimprovements.NHFhasamajorroleinorganizinganddevelopingtheInternationalFederationofHawkersandofothersectionsofurbanpoor.UnderitsableleadershipSouthandSouthAsiaConferenceofstreetvendorsorganizedinkolkata.

FutureplansforFoodHawkersbyHSSHSShasmadethefollowingplansforstreethawkersofKolkatafortheirimprovement:Toformoneco‐operativeoftheirown.Fromthatco‐operativetheycanproduceedibleoilandothernecessaryproductsthatcanbeusedastheirrawmaterialstoimprovethenutritionandqualityofthefoods.Fromthatco‐operativetheycantakesmallloantopurchasesmallwaterfiltersandothernecessaryutensilsandcoveredboxestokeepthefoodcoveredfromthedust.TotakeinitiativetoestablishmorefoodzoneinKolkatapavements.Bynext5yearsoftimeHSSwillbeabletostarthygienicfoodzonesinalmostalltheimportantstreetsofKolkata.HSShasdecidedtosetupapermanenttrainingcenterforhawkerstoteachthemhowtomaintaintheself‐regulatorysystem.Inthiscenteritisestimatedmorethan6000foodhawkerscanbetrainedineachyear.HSSwillmakeaplantoopensomewholenightfoodparkinsomeselectedareasofKolkatawhereitisneededforpoor.HSSisonthemovetosetupsomekindoffoodshopsinfrontofslumareasandotherareaswheredowntroddenpeoplelivesandworkthroughouttheday.InthoseshopsitwillbetheeffortofHSStosupplythemthenutritionalfoodsparticularlytochildren.

HSSinstructionstotheFoodHawkersHSShasgivensomestrictinstructionstoitsmembers.ThevolunteersofHSSarevisitingtheareastomonitorthefollowingjobsWhenfoodhawkersaresellingtheirfoodtocustomerstheyshould:Ensurethatthefoodisfresh,safeandmustbeinthestandardquality.Shouldnothaveanyinfectiousdiseases.Mustwashtheirhandsbeforethedelivery.Mustcuttheirnailsregularly.Itispreferablethatthereshouldbenoringetc.inhand.Theareaofsellingthefoodsmustbecleaneverydaysothatviruscannotbethere.Drinkingwatertobekeptincoveredutensilandthatshouldcleansedwithpropercare.Waterforcookingandforwashtobesafe.Thecookingutensilsshouldbeclean.Thedressofthehawkersshouldbeclean.Thewastebasketshouldbecoveredone.Therawmaterialsandcookedfoodshouldbekeptinseparateplace.Thetemperatureofcookedfoodtobemaintainedproperly(standard63degreeC)Itisbettertokeeptherawmaterialsoffoodinacoolplace. (Ghosh).


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Appendix6:NationalPolicyforStreetFoodVendors

SpecificObjectivesThebasicobjectivesofthepolicyare:∙Legal:Togivevendorslegalstatusbyamending,enacting,repealingandimplementingappropriatelawsandprovidinglegitimatehawkingzonesinurbandevelopment/zoningplans.Facilities:Toprovidefacilitiesforappropriateuseofidentifiedspaceincludingthecreationofhawkingzonesintheurbandevelopment/zoningplans∙Regulation:Toeschewimposingnumericallimitsonaccesstopublicspacesbydiscretionarylicensesandinsteadmovingtonominalfee‐basedregulationofaccess,wheremarketforceslikeprice,qualityanddemandwilldeterminethenumberofvendorsthatcanbesustained.Suchademandcannotbeunlimited.∙Roleindistribution:TomakeStreetvendorsaspecialcomponentoftheurbandevelopment/zoningplansbytreatingthemasanintegralandlegitimatepartoftheurbandistributionsystem.∙SelfCompliance:Topromoteself‐complianceamongstStreetvendors.∙Organization:Topromote,ifnecessary,organizationsofStreetvendorse.g.Unions/Co‐operatives/Associationsandotherformsoforganizationtofacilitatetheirempowerment.∙Participation:Tosetupparticipatorymechanismswithrepresentationbyurbanvendors’organizations,(Unions/Co‐operatives/Associations),Voluntaryorganizations,localauthorities,thepolice,ResidentsWelfareAssociation(RWAs)andothersfororderlyconductofurbanvendingactivities.∙RehabilitationofChildVendors:Totakemeasuresforpromotingabetterfutureforchildvendorsbymakingappropriateinterventionsfortheirrehabilitationandschooling.∙SocialSecurity&FinancialServices:Tofacilitate/promotesocialsecurity(pension,insurance,etc.,)andaccesstocreditforStreetvendorsthroughpromotionofSHGs/co‐operatives/Federations/MicroFinanceInstitutions(MFIs)etc.


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Appendix7:Censusofquestionnaires

Foodsafety

1.Isstreetfoodgenerallysafe?

1=Rarelysafeand10=Alwayssafe

1 2 3 4 5

(1)

6

7

8

(5)

9

(8)

10

(5)

Totalanswersis19

2.Isiteasytokeepstreetfoodsuchasyourssafetoeat?

1=Yesand10=no

1 2 3

(2)

4 5

(1)

6

(1)

7

(5)

8

(3)

9

(5)

10

(2)

Totalanswersis19

3.Whatdoyoudotopreventyourfoodfromgettingcontaminated?(preventthefoodfromgermsanddirt)

Firstwashtherawmaterialandutensilsandwekeepthemthefoodinclosedcontainers.Wealsokeepcookedfoodsinclosedcontainers.keepthefoodhot,covered,cleanandgiveinstantcookedfoodKeepthefoodcoverdandhot:xxxkeepthefoodcovered,hotandcleanNeedtobehotandcleankeepthefoodcovered.Keepthefoodwellpreserved.Cleanthearea.IkeepmyfruitsinglassframeKeepthematerialcleanandcoolfaster.useonlyfreshfruits,usesplasticglasescoverandheatit:(3)foodiscoveredtopreventitfromdirtcoverandheatthemrepeatedlyplasticsheet(bag)inwhichthepurisarebought.Noneelse.(nottosafe)cleanhands,momo’scoveredandputinsteamerputbreadinwoodenboxes

4.Whyshouldrawandcookedfoodbeseparated?

a) Itiseasyatthevendingside:(10)

b) Theflavourwouldbeaffected

c) Tostopbacteriatransfer:(9)

d) Donotknow

Noanswer(1)comment:Noneedtokeepseparate.

Total21,2answerhad2crosses.


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5.Doyouuseanyutensilswhenyouareservingfood?

Yes Sometimes No

(14) (4) (1)

Totalansweris19

6.Doesitmatterifyoutouchthefoodaftercooking/whileserving?

Yes No

(11) (8)

Totalanswer19

Why/Whynot

‐Handcontacthappensduringpreprocessingbutclaimhandsareproperlywashed.Aftercookingfoodstuffishotandnomoretuching

Becaurseitcouldbecontaminated:(10)

tokeepthecostumerhappy

itmightaffectthehygiene

hardtoprepareuntouchedfoodwhichtastegood

Hygienicproblem

Riskperceptionsonfoodsafetyandpersonalhygeine

7.Isitpossibletogetafoodbornediseaseifthefoodiscookedwell?

a) No(8)

b) Yes,ifitiscontaminatedaftercooking(2)

c) Yes,ifitisallowedtostandwithoutheatingfor5‐8hours:(11)

d) Donotknow:x(1)

1comment:useamulbutter.

Totalcrossesis22.(3put2crosses)

8.Haveyoueverhadanyhealthproblemsrelatedtofoodyourself?

Yes No

(4) (14)

Noanswer:x

Totalanswer19

9.Whatarecommonsymptomsoffoodpoisoning?

a) Headache:(2)b) Diarrhoea/vomiting:(14)c) Rashd) Constipationxxx(3)e) Donotknow

Commentfromnoanswer:(2)


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‐thereisnosuchthingasfoodpoisoning(IndiansRock!!)

‐noneoftheabovewithmyfood.

Totalanswersis19

10.Howcanfoodpoisoningbacteriagetintothefood?

a) Pests(insects,birds,ratsandmice)(1)

b) Foodhandlers

c) Fromtheair(5)

d) Rawmaterials(2)

e) Alloftheabove(11)

f) Donotknow

Comments:

‐andwater‐Fromdustinessandimpropersanitation.Thereisnowayforbacteriatoenterintomyfoodstuff.‐alsofromthewaterNoanswer:(1)

Totalanswersare20.(1put2crosses)

Coolingandheatingfacilities:11.Atwhichofthefollowingtemperaturescandangerousbacteriagrow?

a) –10degreeC.(1)

b) 0degreeC.(8)

c) 35degreeC.(8)

d) 50degreeC.

e) 65degreeC.

f) Donotknow(3)

Noanswer:(1)


12.Hotfoodmustbekeptabovewhichtemperature?

a) 73degreeC(4)

b) 63degreeC.(12)

c) 47degreeC

d) 22degreeC

e) Donotknow(3)

Noanswer:x



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13.Howimportantdoyouthinkitistoreheatfoodifitisgettingcold?

1=Notimportantand10=Veryimportant

1

(1)

2 3 4 5 6 7

(2)

8

(2)

9

(4)

10

(8)

Noanswer:xx(2)

Totalanswersare1914.Doyoupreparebigportionsoffoodandreheatitseveraltimes?

Yes Sometimes No

(5) (5) (9)

Totalanswersare19Hygieneofenvironment:15.Howoftendoyoucleanyourequipment?

Everydayafteruse Acoupleoftimesintheweek

Onlysometimes Notoften Never

(18) □ □

comment:‐andbeforeuse

1noanswercomment5timesaday.

Totalanswersare1916.Doyouwashyourequipmentanddisheswithhotorcoldwater?

Hotwater Coldwater

(5) (8)

Noanswer:(5)

Both:x(1)

Totalanswersare19Comment:‐ambienttemperaturewater,gotfromnearlybuildings17.Doyouusesoap?

Yes No

(19) □

Totalanswersare1918.Doyouuseothercleaningmethods?

NO:(16)

‐no,justbywaterflushing

‐usebricktocleanthepantoremovecarbonfrombakedfoodanapplyoiltoavoidrusting

‐usescrotbile

19.Whatdoyoudowithleftoverfood?


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Throwthem:(10)

Fruits!Doesnotpeeluntildemandisthere.Usetheunpeelleftoverfruitthenextday.

throwthemintodustbin:(6)

Breadisgivenbacktobakeryforreselling

Useditnextday

20.Whichisthebestwaytokeepleftoverfoodsinyouropinion?

Wedonotkeepleftoverfood(12)

Nogoodway

Takethemandstoretheminhome,atambienttemperature(fruit)

coldstorage:xx

deepfreeze,maximum1day

keepitincoolwaterbath,andreheatitnextday.

keepfoodcoverd

PersonalHygiene:21.Howoftendoyouwashyourhands?

EverytimeIhavetotouchdifferentfood

Beforeeverynewcustomer

Sometimes Notoften Never

(3) (2) (14) □ □

Totalanswersare1922.Doyouwashhandswithsoap?

Yes sometimes No

(18) □ (1)

Totalanswersare1923.Doyoudryyourhandsafterwash?

Yes sometimes No

(18) □ (1)

Totalanswersare19Comment:‐CleandrywithapieceofclothFoodandquality24.Whatdoyoulookforwhenyoubuyfoodingredients?(Quality)

Quality(5)Lotsofingredients,inshortseeforfreshvegetables.QualityandpriceQualityandfreshness:(4)JuicyandbigsizedfruitsBestatquality:xxFreshbreadwhilebuyinglentilsIaskthetimeofstorage.Freshvegetablestrytobuyfreshvegetablesandchickenbigsizedpotato(forpotatostuffing)Noanswer:(1)


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25.Howoftendoyouchangetheoilfordeepfrying?Everyday Twiceaweek Onceaweek Twiceamonth Onceamonth

(12) (1) □ □ (1)

Non,useamulbutterNoanswer:(4)Others

26.Canyouthinkofanypractisethatwouldmakeyourfoodsaferbutisdifficulttoperformatyourcurrentlocation?

Yes Sometimes No

(9) (4) (4)

Noanswer:(2)

Whichandwhy:

Usingmoreequipmentlikecoolingstem,justinpavement

wearenotdoit.

Wantstohaveamoreenclosedandsafereating.Need

capital.

Needbetterequipment:(2)

IfIcouldusecoolingequipmentIcouldbebetter.Butitis

notimpossibleinpavement.

UsebetterepuipmentwhichIcannotdoatmylocation.

itisdifficulttokeepthepavementalwaysclean

IfIcangetcapital,Iwillproposetoopenabigshopand

makejuicewithelectronicpoweredmachines.

Onthespoteasytransport.

Permanentstructure

Needpermanentstructuretokeepfoodsafe

Thesearemanythings,butcannotdoitonpavement

Useglovesbutitmightslowdownwork.

Hot/warmwatercanbeusedtowashplatesbutmight

taketime.

StreetfoodinKolkata–Ahygienicperspective ProjectinPractice400040,16thApril2010,KULIFE

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