Public Health seminar report · 2024

Ensuring the Safety of Street Foods in Nigeria

This seminar reviews literature on street food safety in Nigeria, with attention to foodborne illness, microbial contamination, food-vendor hygiene, consumer awareness and the regulatory arrangements intended to protect public health.

Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health · University of Port Harcourt · Cover dated February 2024

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Seminar overview

This seminar is a critical examination of literature on the safety of street foods in Nigeria. It reviews the epidemiology of foodborne illnesses, including their prevalence and risk factors associated with microbial contamination of street-vended foods. It also considers food vendors’ hygiene practices and factors that influence adherence to recommended procedures.

The review synthesises literature on consumer awareness and perceptions of street food safety, alongside food safety policies, guidelines and enforcement mechanisms in Nigeria and internationally. The source abstract reports a systematic search of PubMed and Google Scholar conducted as of 8 February 2025. From 2,077 initial records, 377 duplicates were removed; 1,700 records were screened by title and abstract, 260 full-text articles were assessed, and 152 studies were included.

Main themes

Foodborne illness and microbial contamination of street-vended foods.
Food-vendor hygiene practices and differences between urban and rural settings.
Consumer awareness and the visible cues consumers use when choosing vendors.
Food safety policies, regulatory responsibilities and enforcement challenges.
Education, training, regulation and infrastructure as areas for improvement.

Conclusions reported in the seminar

The review indicates that knowledge of food safety principles does not always translate into consistent practice. It identifies overlapping regulatory responsibilities, outdated provisions and enforcement challenges within Nigeria’s domestic food safety framework. The seminar recommends updated regulatory practices, context-specific training, food safety education and investment in infrastructure.

Abstract

This seminar is a critical examination of existing literature on the safety of street foods in Nigeria. Particularly, the review focused on the epidemiology of foodborne illnesses in Nigeria, with regards to the prevalence of foodborne illnesses and the risk factors associated with microbial contamination of street-vended foods. A review on the hygiene practices of food vendors and the factors influencing adherence to hygiene practices was also conducted. Recent literature on consumer awareness and perceptions of street food safety in Nigeria were also reviewed and synthesised. Existing policies, guidelines and enforcement mechanisms towards food safety were also reviewed from an international and Nigerian perspective. A systematic search was carried out using PubMed and Google Scholar as of 8 February 2025. The initial search yielded 2,077 records (63 from PubMed and 2,014 from Google Scholar). After removing 377 duplicates, 1,700 unique records were screened by title and abstract, leading to the exclusion of 1,440 records that were irrelevant or lacked sufficient methodological detail. A total of 260 full-text articles were then evaluated, with 152 studies meeting the criteria for inclusion. The review revealed that, although food vendors typically have a good grasp of food safety principles, their actual practices often fall short. Similarly, while some consumers are aware of food safety, their decisions on where to buy food tend to depend on visible factors such as vendor cleanliness rather than formal regulatory standards. It was also found that most urban vendors follow recommended food safety practices (such as regular handwashing, proper food storage, and keeping raw and cooked foods separate) than their rural counterparts who tend to rely on more traditional methods. At the policy level, although international standards (for example, those set by the Codex Alimentarius, the World Trade Organization Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (WTO SPS) Agreement, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and ISO 22000 support food safety, the domestic regulatory framework in Nigeria suffers from overlapping responsibilities, outdated provisions, and challenges in enforcement. In conclusion, the review indicates a pressing need for updated regulatory practices, improved educational initiatives, and considerable investment in infrastructure to ensure safer street food practices across Nigeria. It is recommended, among others, that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, in partnership with local governments and community organisations, implement ongoing, context-specific training programmes and incorporate food safety topics into school curricula, to bring about lasting improvements in street food safety. Word count: 399

Related Publications

Article arising from this seminar

Owan, V. J., Owan, M. V., Ogabor, J. O., Olajubu, B. I., & Etta, E. O. (2026). Street food safety and foodborne illness in Nigeria: An integrative review of epidemiology, vendor practices, and consumer behaviour. Aminu Kano Academic Scholars Association Multidisciplinary Journal, 4(4), 25–47. https://doi.org/10.64726/1jdev375

Adinya, V. A., & Owan, V. J. (2026). An assessment of food safety practices among public food vendors in urban and rural areas of Cross River State, Nigeria. International Journal of Medical and Health Sciences Research, 13(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.18488/9.v13i1.5195