Is street food really safe to eat?
So we all love street food, who doesn’t?В Depending on which country you’re located, the definition of street food is not the same for all cultures.В It’s not universal and the kind of street food you will see depends largely on cultural preferences, as well as the availability of ingredients.В This article will try to answer the burning question all foodies ask; is street food safe to eat?
My personal experience with street food
I’m not saying that I’ve never gotten sick from street food, because I have. Mostly during my childhood because I love Samalamig, barbecue and dirty ice cream. I still do, by the way. One particular fishball stand in Iloilo City (back in the late 80s) won me w two-week vacation at the St. Paul’s hospital because of the invisible freebie that came with the fishballs: Hepatitis A.
A year earlier I had pharyngitis from drinking Samalamig from the vendor’s reusable glass. I was too cheap to pay the extra .25 centavos for the plastic container and straw so I just drank it straight from the vendor’s plastic glass which he just dips in murky water in a small bucket under the cart to “clean” it for the next customer. Ah, happy times.
Street food is a culture thing. An Asian culture thing.
I’ve traveled to the US where their idea of street food is a hotdog stand or a truck with windows selling pre-packaged sandwiches and salads with canned sodas. Particularly near Sansom Street in Frisco is this refrigerated truck that sells sandwiches for $4 apiece. Nicely packaged and clean. Really boring. Not to mention it tasted too bland for my distinctly Indio palate.
But in Thailand, street food is happiness. Grilled shrimp, tasty coconut water, barbecue pork satay, grilled chicken quarters with veggies on the side, Bangkok is what I consider to be street food heaven. I once skipped the hotel’s buffet just to travel to Ruam Rudee for this guy’s crepe. I don’t remember what they call it but this guy took his usual post right across Ruam Rudee International School from 7am to 10am selling these wonderful crepes with nothing in it but condensed milk and powdered sugar on the outside. It is was crazy! The best I’ve ever had for Bht 10.00!
Street food in the Philippines
Back in the 1980s, street food was mostly unsanitary. I know. I got sick most of the time back then. The lack of refrigeration was usually the culprit, because food carts were mostly mobile and had no capacity to run electrical devices like mixers (those guys who sold “scramble” must have had really strong arms) or refrigerators (makes you wonder where did they get and keep their ice). Samalamig or “palamig” as it is commonly known today, is a perennial favorite, mainly because of the weather. It’s hot, we get thirsty. But because soda is more expensive, the palamig easily won the loyalty of students whose baons were no more than P5.00 a day.В An aunt of mine once told me why the palamig was cola-colored; it was supposed to resemble the cola without the cola price. The dark color was also good in hiding the real color of the water, which was of unknown origins. The vanilla flavoring helped mask any off-putting odor and taste of the water. The sugar? That was there to make us all go boing-boing after a glass (or plastic bag).
Street food is also a cheap alternative to restaurant-dining. The economics of the whole setup made it flourish as an industry and in the 1990s was even called “the foundation for the underground economy.”В People with no jobs just went out, put a cart together and started selling fishballs. Presto, instant work that can sometimes pay well when peddled in an area with many people, like schools, construction sites and even office buildings.
Street food in 21st century Metro Manila
Yes, those guys selling tokneneng as still around, but the playing field has changed. The franchised food carts have entered the picture and are giving your favorite scramble manong a run for his money. Franchised food carts are the biggest thing to happen to street food since the invention of the kerosene stove. Now, street food has become cleaner, safer to eat. Being a food cart owner no longer means you are part of the underground economy; it meant that you are a serious entrepreneur and that you pay taxes. Most of these food carts issue receipts, have refrigeration and a customer service hotline. Imagine! Someone to call when your stir-fried noodles are rancid, or when the siomai smells bad and you want a refund.
The beauty of the franchised food cart
These colorful food carts don’t only sell good food; they sell safe food. One siomai vendor in Guadalupe Nuevo, for instance, uses alkaline ionized water for their Gulaman. They chose to pay extra to make sure their customers enjoy high-quality water. Yes, I know this for a fact because they buy from my water store, three times a day.
Franchised food carts are sure to serve safe food because they have a corporate image to protect. The scale of their operations is far bigger than just what you see when you buy their siomai and noodles. They have their factories and have established streamlined processes that are as efficient as they are sanitary. There are no hits and misses with their food preparation because it is not in their best interest to have someone complain of gastroenteritis. Most franchised carts are located in more than one place thus the importance of maintaining professionalism.
So, are food carts really safe? Only if they are from a franchised food cart will I say ‘yes’ to that question.
(Note: This article is from my own research. It is not a paid post.)
June 2, 2010
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Arpee В· 
11 Comments
Tags: franchised food business, franchised food carts, is street food safe to eat, manila street food, philippine street food, street food, street food in manila, street food in the philippines В· Posted in: F&B, pinoylife
11 Responses
have u tried this one?
http://www.foodivities.info/2009/07/up-food-tour.html
Saying that street food is “SAFE” is way overboard. What I would say is if you got a good immune body then go for it if not stay with home cooked food or the one sold in the mall.
in fairness, there are street food vendors that are handled carefully. it’s just that i’ve been sick way too many times for me to be less discerning with it. the franchised carts i have proven to be clean and safe. well, most of them.
pare, when you visit Shanghai, try their street foods. Try the “Yang-row” (Lamb BBQ) sprinkled with chili powder, or their street fried rice. Also, they sell mini-lobsters on the street! SARAP!
by the way, the lamb bbq costs 7 pesos per stick, the fried rice around 15 pesos and the mini lobsters around 70 pesos per kilo!
street food must be cheap and tasty. i can only imagine street food in china and taiwan. panalo talaga siguro no?
But but but but I like street food. I should’ve started eating as a smaller kid to build up immune system.
That reminds me, I was isaw.
Hi, Arps! Back in college, I came down with a terrible case of stomach flu when I was still living at “our” boarding house. It was so bad that our “salty” friend had to rush me to the “sanatorium.” The other time I had stomach flu was just a few weeks ago. You wouldn’t believe where I got it: at the gym! Of all places! The culprit: the water fountain. :-S
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If you have the stomach for it, street food is delight. Those franchised food carts is a welcomed option for people with weaker, less tolerant digestive systems.
Street food man yan, fast food, or kahit ano, I will eat it all.
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