Abstract
The rise of food trucks as an eating out option requires knowledge of this sector. Balancing the reality of the food truck sector with access to safe food should guide actions and public policies to cater to its peculiarities. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the Brazilian food truck vendors’ profile regarding their socioeconomic status and compliance with food safety rules. From the 118 food truck vendors registered in the Brazilian Federal District, 30% (n = 35) participated in the study. We conducted structured interviews from December 2017 to April 2018. We ranked compliance levels according to a five-point Likert scale based on calculated compliance scores. The interviews revealed that food truck vendors were mostly married males, who had completed at least a tertiary education level, and wanted to start up their own businesses. The compliance levels depict good compliance with food safety rules (overall compliance (OC)-score = 0.69, on a 0 to 1 scale). The food trucks assessed in this study distinguished themselves from the street food and food retail sectors due to their operational structure and the complexity of food production processes. Those particular features should be considered to ensure adequate and effective sanitary control and inspections, as well as to reduce the probability of microbial growth and food contamination and the consequent risk of foodborne illnesses.
Highlights
The term “street food” (SF) describes a wide range of “ready-to-eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors or hawkers especially in the streets and other similar places” [1]
Since the existing institutional and legislative frameworks have an impact on food safety among food vendors, this study aimed to characterize the Brazilian food truck vendors’ (FTVs) profile regarding their socioeconomic status and compliance with food safety rules
From a total of 118 FT vendors (FTVs) registered in the Brazilian Federal District Health Surveillance, 63 (53%) were found and invited to participate in the interview, and 35 (30%) agreed to participate
Summary
The term “street food” (SF) describes a wide range of “ready-to-eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors or hawkers especially in the streets and other similar places” [1]. Especially in urban areas, street food plays a significant role in the socioeconomic and nutritional spheres for low-and-middle-income vendors and consumers, generating employment and constituting a ready and inexpensive of nutrition to the diet of locals [2,3]. In the past few years, the emerging industry of gourmet FTs has been revolutionizing the street food scene. The Brazilian FT industry has been booming, especially over the last four years, due to the influence of the American boom of FTs. According to statistics collected by Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio
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