Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Floating Food Vendors in Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Thailand Sudarin Rodmanee Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan E-Mail: [email protected] Srayut Tongnoy Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan E-Mail: [email protected] Wen-Chi Huang Department of Agribusiness Management Joint Appointment with Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan E-Mail: [email protected] Abstract I. INTRODUCTION Food hygiene knowledge and practices Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is one of floating food vendors in Damnoen of the famous and attractive places to see Saduak Floating Market was investigat ed. traditional way of food and goods trade in Data was collected from thirty Thailand. It is located at Damnoen Saduak vendors using a structured District, Ratchaburi Province. Like other questionnaire and an observational floating markets checklist. Few (10%) vendors acquired the In Thailand, food is definitely one of the knowledge of food safety by highlights of a trip to Damnoen Saduak formal training. The results suggest that Floating Market. although most floating food vendors have The major advantage of being floating knowledge of some aspects of food safety and food vendors is the accessibility to the practices, several gaps remain, posing a buyer. On the other hand, hygiene is the serious health hazard to consumers. The main weak point due to several factors such problems were the infrequency of hand as trading features, characteristics of the washing, the storage of cooked food foods sold and hygiene surveillance, which uncovered and the accumulation of waste increase concerns about the safety of vended near the point-of-sale. It is important that foods. Currently, food sanitation vendors should be supported through laws and regulations do not provide any additional hygiene training and routine specific standards with which floating food inspections be conducted to ensure that vendors need to comply to carry out appropriate knowledge is acquired and their activity. They are not regulated and effectively applied. The code of practice operate haphazardly without any for vendors should be developed with a monitoring of hygiene practices. Diarrheal view to improve food safety in floating diseases have been considered the major market food operations. public health problem in Thailand [1]. Keywords: Floating market, food safety, There are approximately more than hygiene, sanitation 120,000 cases of reported food poisoning 30 Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Floating Food Vendors in Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Thailand cases every year [2]. than three liquid stools a day. Only 3% of Unhygienic foodhandling of the floating the vendors did not have any knowledge food vendors may cause pathogens to come about diarrhea. Majority of the respondents into contact with vended foods and cause (93%) were aware that all the five factors foodborne diseases. The purpose of this namely; dirty food, dirty water, dirty study was to investigate the current hygiene hands, dirty utensils, and animals as risk knowledge and practices of floating food factors for the transmission of pathogens vendors in Damnoen Saduak Floating causing diarrhea. Market. The results revealed that all of the vendors were aware that invisible germs in foods and II. MATERIALS AND METHODS hairs as food contaminants. However, only Thirty floating food vendors in Damnoen one-tenth of the vendors considered that Saduak Floating Market, Ratchaburi food colorings, flavorings and spices used in Province, Thailand were interviewed on-the- food preparation and preservation can spot by using a structured questionnaire and contaminate food. an observation checklist. The questionnaire C. Health and Personal Hygiene was divided in to five parts: (i) profile of the More than 85% of the vendors agreed vendors; (ii) knowledge about diarrhea and that fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and food contaminants; (iii) health and personal stomach cramps may makethem hygiene; (iv) food handling; (v) waste stop vending temporarily. All of the vendors management. The hygienic practices and agreed that bathing must be done regularly personal hygiene were also observed and and they should wear clean clothes, aprons recorded by using the observation checklist. and hair nets. However, it was observed The survey was conducted in August, that 80% of the respondents did not wear 2011. Data was analyzed by using the aprons, 37% had worn jewelry, 27% did not Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) wear hair restraints, and 23% had dirty version 17.0. Descriptive statistics were nails. Avoiding the use of adornments of any used to present the findings. type is also an essential measure in good practices of personal hygiene [4]. III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Hand washing is a simple and A. Profile of Floating Food Vendors and effective way to cut down on cross Vended Food in Damnoen Saduak contamination. Hand washing practices of Floating Market the floating food vendors are presented in Only 10% of the respondents in this study Table 1. From the survey it was observed had acquired formal food sanitary training. that none of the vendors washed hands Food vendors should be adequately educated after handling money. The hands of food on the food safety [3]. There were various handlers can be vectors in the spread of types of floating food vended at Damnoen foodborne diseases due to poor personal Saduak Floating Market. About 37% of the hygiene or cross contamination [5]. The food vendors sold fresh fruits such as mango, vendors should avoid handling money and pomelo, rose apple, coconut, guava, star fruit if this is unavoidable, the vendors should and durian. Other vendors sold Thai dessert, clean hands after touching money and Pad Thai, pork satay, spring roll and papaya before handling food again. Food salad (17%, 7%, 7%, 7% and 3%, handlers should wash their hands with respectively). soap and water after engaging in any activities that are likely to introduce B. Knowledge about Diarrhea and Food biological, chemical or physical hazards Contaminants (e.g. after handling raw foods of animal More than 90% of the vendors knew the origin, after using the toilet, after handling symptom of diarrhea as passing of more unsanitary objects such as garbage International Journal of the Computer, the Internet and Management Vol.20 No.3 (September-December, 2012) pp 30-33 31 Sudarin Rodmanee, Srayut Tongnoy, and Wen-Chi Huang containers, after touching animals, and after contamination, hence introduction of contact with toxic substances suchas microbes on safe food [8]. pesticides and disinfectants) [6]. F. Waste Management TABLE I It was found that 97% of the floating food vendors HAND WASHING PRACTICES OF FLOATING had at least one waste container. In actual practice, FOOD VENDORS IN DAMNOEN SADUAK wastes were accumulated in open receptacles FLOATING MARKET (plastic bags or trash bins). The receptacles were placed in their boats or near their vending areas. The wastes were usually disposed of at the end of the day. The vendors did not cover trash receptacles thus attracting flies and other insects creating the possibility of contamination of cooked food [9]. Of the vendors who did not have garbage receptacles, they disposed their garbage in the canal. It was found that many of floating markets in Thailand suffered from environmental problems. The problems were caused by waste in E. Food Handling the canal [10]. Results of the survey showed that the vendors knew that it was unsafe to use VI. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION unclean raw materials. All of the vendors agreed that they should washed vegetables The results of this study suggest that before cooking. Most of them (87%) refused although most floating food vendors have to use cooking oil repeatedly. Additionally, knowledge of some aspects of food safety and 80% of the vendors recognized that the use of practices, several gaps remain, posing a serious the same cutting board for raw and cooked health hazard to consumers. The main food of animal and vegetable origin without problems were the infrequency of hand washing, thorough proper washing could be one of the the storage of cooked food uncovered cases of food poisoning. Majority of the and the accumulation of waste near the point- respondents (90%) used tap water for of-sale. It is important that vendors should be preparing and cooking food. More vendors supported through additional hygiene training and (77%) cooked their food during sale and routine inspections be conducted to only 37% reheated the food before serve. ensure that appropriate knowledge is acquired These cooked food were reheated a and effectively applied. The code of practice for Few minutes for consumers anytime vendors should be developed with a view to during the day. Moreover, 60% of the improve food safety in floating market food vendors stored cooked food in uncovered operation. containers and 43% of the vendors handled cooked food with bare hands.If cooking and ACKNOWLEDGMENT reheating are inadequate, bacterial Sudarin Rodmanee and Srayut Tongnoy contaminants can multiply. If food cannot be wish to thank Taiwan Scholarship and served immediately, it should be kept or NPUST Scholarship for supporting maintain within the safety temperature of at scholarships for pursuing the study and least 70oC before eating. This is to make sure sincerely thank the Ministry of Agriculture that the foods may not act as incubator for and Cooperatives, Thailand for giving an microbes whether the food is partially opportunity to continue education in cooked or fully done [7]. Clean utensils such graduate study. as tongs, spoons or forks should be used when handling cooked food. Handling with bare hands may results in cross 32 Food Safety Knowledge and Practices of Floating Food Vendors in Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Thailand REFERENCES [9] C.