The street food trade in Africa: safety and socio-environmental issues

The aim of this article is to draw attention to the public health hazards and socio-ecological problems posed by the street food industry in Africa. To mitigate these problems and enhance sustainable development of the street food trade, the paper emphasizes the need for African countries to intensify the education of street food consumers, and vendors in particular on basic food safety matters and formulate their codes of practice for street foods using the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) approach. In: view of their general weakness on the individual basis, consumers are urged to form organizations through which they can assert their rights and be heard on matters affecting them. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.