Exploring safety of food truck products in a developed country

Keywords

E. coli; Food safety risks; Food trucks; Salmonella; Street food; Vendor awareness

Abstract

There is limited research on food safety practices of street foods, particularly food trucks in developed countries. Given this gap, this study explores the safety and sanitation status of food trucks in the highly developed tourist destination of Orlando, Florida, in the United States. A sample of 30 raw and cooked ready-to-eat foods was collected from 24 food trucks located in residential and touristic sites located in Orlando and then held for microbiological analyses (E. coli and Salmonella enterica spp.) to determine pathogen populations of the final products. In addition to lab analyses for coliform bacteria, food safety practices of vendors were evaluated. Although developed countries are believed to have strict safety and quality measures in place, our study results reveal that food prepared in and sold from food trucks can be potential vehicles of clinically relevant E. coli and Salmonella carrying intestinal pathogenic virulence factors or antibiotic resistance genes, which might create a public health hazard or more specifically foodborne illnesses and outbreak. To minimize foodborne illnesses and infection risks, food inspections and monitoring processes should be carefully revised by municipal, county, and state health departments. This is one of the first studies to explore safety of food truck products in the context of a developed country.

Publication Date

8-1-2019

Publication Title

International Journal of Hospitality Management

Volume

81

Number of Pages

150-158

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.02.011

Socpus ID

85064466731 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85064466731

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