Towards Safe Street food in Chennai City

An important provider of food security, the street food vendor is present in all parts of urban and semi-urban areas making food both available conveniently and at an affordable cost for consumers. Their presence in different kinds of locations within the urban or semi-urban context signifies that the sector though informal and unorganised is predominantly demand-driven. Street food vendors belong to a natural market and are an integral part of the present day urban and semi-urban scenario, though they are not formally recognized or acknowledged.

Street food being prepared and served primarily on the roadside raises concerns of food safety especially food contamination. As street food caters to a wide range of people ensuring safety of the food served is vital.

With these issues in mind, CAG began working with street food vendor in 2003. An initial study supported by Consumers International (CI) threw a lot of issues that needed to be addressed. The study looked at various issues relating to street food vending in the city- legal, infrastructural facilities, profiles of vendors etc. A few issues that were constantly raised were that of legal recognition of vendors and training for street vendors on food safety and hygiene.

In 2005, a unique effort to identify and train vendors from different areas in South Chennai was made. 30 vendors were trained by premier institutions in Chennai, Institute of Hotel Management and the Centre for Nutrition in Women’s Christian College and after the training a street food festival was conducted to create awareness amongst the general public and government agencies.