Street food safety good practices: Recommendation for Afghan Government

As a result of fast growing economy, constant insecurity in rural areas of Afghanistan and better employment opportunities, cities attracts a large proportion of people for employment and results in settlement of this section in outer areas of cities and development of suburbs. The people in the city plus the new comers from rural areas have better purchasing power and living conditions. Due to less free time and interest in ready-to-eat foods, demand is increasing day by day. Processed and ready to eat food saves one’s time from standing in kitchen for long hours to cook food.

In this instance, street food safety is very important. The food vended on the street is of different flavor, cheap and tasty, which becomes popular among people easily. The field experience in Kabul highlights a few points which need to be addressed for better hygiene status and food practices amongst street food vendors. There is a dire need of generating awareness among street vendors and WHO’s five “keys to safety” should be incorporated. 

1.      Keep clean

2.      Raw and cooked food should be kept separated

3.      Destroy hazards when possible

4.      Keep microorganism in food from growing

5.      Use safe water and raw material

The government must promote the five keys to food safety to consumers by making use of mass media channels such as television, the national radio station, social media, but also through associations such as the Community Development Councils (CDCs), District Development Councils (DDC), Farmers Association, Farmers Cooperatives, and Women’s Union.  To reach consumers in remote areas we also distribute flyers and broadcast audio and video messages through the village speaker systems or influential people which might be very specific to Afghanistan. The influential can be teachers, Mullahs and elders of the community.

In addition a street food vendor needs to have the following in place:

·            The stall must be away from a polluted place;

·            Clean water must be used to cook and clean kitchen utensils;

·            The origin of produce used to make the food must be clear;

·            Vendors must have a waste collection system in place; and

·            Vendors can only make use of a specific list of additives.

To ensure that the food is safe and all the above requirement are met, the government needs to organize inspections to monitor compliance. Compliant vendors has to be encouraged, while those not meeting the requirements shall be fined or required to stop their activities.

At the same time, parallel to the above activities, government of Afghanistan needs to have a comprehensive policy to ensure that food is safe and wholesome. As with all food preparation activities, basic food hygiene rules must be applied. In addition, the government has to consider the Codex respective codes of hygienic practices for street-vended foods.

 - Naim Khalid