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Thanks to FAO’s Improving Food Safety in Bangladesh programme, consumers in Khulna, a city in southwestern Bangladesh at the gateway to the Sundarbans delta, now have access to hygienic street food. In partnership with the Khulna Municipal Corporation (KCC), FAO provided 500 street food vendors with new street food carts authorized by the Khulna Municipal Corporation, designed to minimize contamination of food during preparation. The vendors were trained in Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) and continuously monitored by the Khulna Municipal Corporation food safety team, trained by FAO. The Khulna Municipal Corporation team was further supported by teachers and students from 20 schools, who were trained to monitor street food carts in their neighbourhoods. These efforts have significantly boosted consumer confidence and increased vendors’ incomes. Due to its success, the model has now been expanded to Dhaka, a city of 16 million inhabitants, where 600 street food carts are currently being distributed as part of the programme. The street food programme is part of the Bangladesh Integrated Capacity Building for Food Safety project, which was launched in 2009 to strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of multiple sectors of the national food control system. In addition to street food, the project also supports food analysis laboratories, food standards and risk assessment, consumer awareness and education, foodborne disease surveillance, risk-based food inspection, and strengthening food safety along the agricultural value chain. The project aims to strengthen key components of food safety and promote the establishment of effective food control systems to protect public health and facilitate food trade.
Bangladeshi street food traditions
Street food is a large but poorly organized industry in Bangladesh. Street foods are inexpensive and an attractive alternative to home cooking. They are an important source of food and nutrition for low-income people, and a source of livelihood for many. With the rapid population growth in Khulna, the street food industry has also expanded rapidly, including the rise of an unregulated street food industry.
In this context, when FAO proposed the idea of a street food assistance program for the city, the mayor of Khulna immediately agreed and appointed a KCC team. Two veterinary officers were tasked with guiding implementation on the ground. 500 vendors were recruited using materials prepared by FAO and trained on Good Hygiene Practices (GHP). Street food carts procured by FAO were distributed to participants along with utensils and clean water jugs.
“The FAO-KCC training taught me to prepare food in a hygienic manner and street vendoring provides me with a livelihood. I am very popular among local university students, who are my main customers,” said Taslima Begum, one of the many street vendors at KCC.
FAO also introduced the concept of cart permits to the Korean Food Safety Commission team to facilitate monitoring and data recording. FAO established a core team of 31 food safety monitors to visit vendors regularly.
Student volunteers help ensure food safety rules
In Bangladesh, street food carts cluster in public places, especially around schools. Most students buy snacks and lunch from these carts. So the KCC Education Department assembled a volunteer team of 50 children and their teachers from 10 schools, trained by FAO.
“The vendors around our school are very careful about cleanliness and hygiene. I am very proud to contribute to street food safety in Khulna,” said Aneesha Shahani, a high school student and food safety monitor. The initiative was so popular that in 2015 10 more schools joined the volunteer team.
The result is a “triple win” for all involved. In interviews and questionnaires, most vendors reported an increase in revenue of 100% or more with the new hygienic street carts. Good hygiene and safe food practices are now a daily habit. Customers interviewed expressed satisfaction with the reduction in illness rates after consuming street food.
KCC has enhanced its technical capabilities and is uniquely positioned to lead food safety efforts in urban areas of Bangladesh and provide lessons to its counterparts in the capital city of Dhaka. Last but not least, the school volunteer program marks the beginning of a large-scale food safety education campaign starting with the youngest generation.
“We want to make Khulna the street food capital of Bangladesh. Vendors who sell hygienic food can earn more and the message is spreading fast to others. We are actively working to train more and more vendors in GHP,” concluded KCC veterinarians Rezaul Karim and Peru Biswas.
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