Driving factors of food safety standards in India: learning from street-food vendors’ behaviour and attitude

Risks exist anywhere along the food supply chain; however, the vast majority of negative safety outcomes occur during the handling, preparation, storage, retail and vending of food, and disposing of waste. This study examined the food safety standards followed by street-food vendors in two large cities of India, Hyderabad and Delhi in 2017 after the introduction of the Food Safety and Standards Rules. A survey was conducted in different socioeconomic groups among 200 street-food vendors to understand the compliance and practice of food safety standards in India. Only about one-third of the street-food vendors had registered to run food-vending shops, and most street-food vendors are not following basic food safety principles like wearing apron, access to tap water, were not able to use soap for cleaning utensils, and many did not have refrigerators to store food. The results show that vendors in high-income localities with higher education levels and duly registered were following more safety standards. From a policy perspective, the results show that India’s food safety standards are on a par with those of most developed countries, but that their actual implementation by street-food vendors is not duly assured. To avoid this situation, an exchange of experiences between street-food vendors and consumers should be promoted. “Clean street-food clubs” should be encouraged as one mechanism to recognize street vendors’ needs and to learn from consumers’ demands, so that the awareness of street-food vendors towards food safety standards is strengthened.