{"id":26906,"date":"2018-08-06T10:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T09:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/?p=26906"},"modified":"2024-02-27T11:29:04","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T11:29:04","slug":"street-food-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/street-food-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Street Food Safe? A Street Food Hygiene Guide for Consumers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Street food <\/strong>refers to the food and drink sold on streets and in other public places, such as markets. Originally beginning in Asia, its growing popularity has spread to America and the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Street food is popular in many environments. From music festivals littered with stalls, to markets that contain a wide range of stands, street food is becoming increasingly available to us as consumers.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst street food is certainly delicious, and a fun way to become part of a local culture, we often find ourselves asking \u2018is street food safe?\u2019. Put simply, yes &#8211; all street food businesses must be aware of food hygiene principles in order to serve food safely to consumers.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Is Street Food Safe?<\/h2>\n<p>We all get tempted by the smells and sights of street food as we walk past. However, despite our temptations, many of us are sceptical about whether it&#8217;s safe to eat.<\/p>\n<p>As long as certain hygiene conditions are met, there\u2019s no reason that street food isn\u2019t safe for consumption. The following six sections of this article offer you five things to look out for when you\u2019re thinking of buying street food and want to know if it\u2019s safe.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Cleanliness<\/h3>\n<p>When you examine a street food station for cleanliness, you should look at the workstation, the utensils and crockery, and even the server themselves. You can be subjective with this: if you think that somewhere looks dirty and unhygienic, or that the vendor looks like they don\u2019t fully care for their personal hygiene, then you shouldn\u2019t eat there.<\/p>\n<p>Ask yourself:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the workstation tidy and organised &#8211; for example have they kept raw food away from cooked food?<\/li>\n<li>Is the workstation clean, with no signs of dirty surfaces, unwiped spillages, and bits of food waste?<\/li>\n<li>Does the area around the stall look clean? For example, is there excess rubbish or signs of pests?<\/li>\n<li>Are there any signs of a food hygiene sticker displayed on or around the stall?<\/li>\n<li>Does the vendor look to follow high standards of personal hygiene and cleanliness?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-30738 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/food_safety_core_temperature_quiz-6.jpg\" alt=\"meat skewers at a street food stall\" width=\"685\" height=\"295\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Temperature<\/h3>\n<p>There are temperatures that food must be cooked at and held at for it to be safe. These temperatures must be adhered to across all food establishments, from the most expensive of restaurants to street food stalls. Incorrect cooking and holding temperatures are incredibly dangerous and can put you at risk of many complications, such as food poisoning.<\/p>\n<p>Bacteria need warmth to multiply and they multiply the quickest in temperatures between 20\u00b0C and 50\u00b0C. To prevent bacteria from multiplying in food, it\u2019s important that food handlers keep any <strong>hot food above 63\u00b0C<\/strong> any <strong>cold food below 5\u00b0C<\/strong>. Temperatures above 5\u00b0C and below 63\u00b0C are considered the<strong>\u00a0danger zone. <\/strong>If hot food cannot be kept at 63\u00b0C or above then the vendor must discard it after two hours. If the temperature of cold food rises above 8\u00b0C then they must dispose of it within four hours.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s often difficult to know whether vendors adhere to these temperatures and times. If you think the food has been held in the danger zone temperatures, been left for too long, or not cooked for long enough, then don\u2019t eat it. Furthermore, large vats of food can also be a warning sign that food has been held for too long and is being held at the incorrect temperature. Larger bowls are harder to keep warm, so it\u2019s much better if food is made fresh to order.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/street-food-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><button>You may also be interested in:\u00a0How To Start a Street Food Business<\/button><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Storage<\/h3>\n<p>Raw and cooked foods need to be kept separately to avoid risks of cross-contamination. Avoid the stall if you notice that items such as raw chicken are kept alongside ready-to-eat foods. For example, salads or cheeses.<\/p>\n<p>Raw and ready-to-eat foods should be served from separate counters by different food handlers and kept in different containers. If you have any doubts that the food could be cross contaminated, don\u2019t eat there.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Fresh Produce<\/h3>\n<p>A clear benefit of street food is that you can often see the vendor cooking the food before you. As a result, you can see whether they\u2019ve cooked your food for long enough and if they\u2019ve adhered to safe handling procedures.<\/p>\n<p>This doesn\u2019t only refer to meat and fish, but also to fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables can carry harmful bacteria and the vendor should wash them appropriately.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-23525 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/food-truck.jpg\" alt=\"man serving food in a food truck\" width=\"685\" height=\"295\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Ice and Water<\/h3>\n<p>When you\u2019re travelling there are certain places where you shouldn\u2019t drink tap water, such as in Africa, South America, and many places in Asia. In these countries, you shouldn\u2019t drink any water unless it\u2019s bottled. Furthermore, you should also not have ice in your drinks unless you see it taken from a sealed, packaged bag.<\/p>\n<p>Salad items are also dangerous in this sense if they\u2019ve been washed in contaminated water. Think about what you order when you visit a country with potentially contaminated water sources. Of course, if you visit a street food truck in the UK, these issues become irrelevant.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Fruit and Vegetables<\/h3>\n<p>Because fruit and vegetables could be washed in contaminated water, you should always peel your fruit and vegetables and buy produce that has a peel-able skin, such as bananas.<\/p>\n<p>Avoid food that you can\u2019t peel, such as tomatoes, as these can carry harmful bacteria on the skin.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>What to Read Next:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/importance-of-food-hygiene-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Importance of Food Hygiene Training<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/food-borne-diseases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Food Borne Diseases: A Complete List<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/what-are-high-risk-foods\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What are High-Risk Foods and How Can I Use Them Safely?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/food-hygiene-certificate-to-sell-food\/\">Do I Need a Food Hygiene Certificate to Sell Food?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/setting-up-a-food-stall-festival\/\">How to Set Up a Food Stall at a Festival<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/courses\/food-hygiene\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Online Food Hygiene Training<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Street food is becoming increasingly popular, perhaps due to its authenticity. Is street food safe though? This guide outlines what to look out for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":28790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[700,96],"class_list":["post-26906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-hygiene","tag-food-safety","tag-nutrition"],"acf":{"schema_disabled":false,"schema_properties_FAQPage_question_answer":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_tools":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_supplies":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_steps":null,"schema_properties_WebPage_cssSelector":null,"schema_sameAs_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_override":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.5 (Yoast SEO v19.12) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Street Food Safe? | Food Hygiene Guide for Consumers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Street food is becoming increasingly popular, perhaps due to its authenticity. 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