Factors associated with compliance among urban street food vendors with the food safety and standards authority of India (FSSAI) checklist: evidence from multinomial logistic and gamma regression models.

introductionStreet food is an integral part in India's culinary landscape, providing affordable and delicious food options to millions. To regulate food quality and ensure public health, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has established guidelines and statutory requirements for street food vendors. This study aimed to assess compliance with the FSSAI checklist and examined the sociodemographic and employment-related factors associated with food safety compliance among urban street food vendors.

methodsIn this community-based cross-sectional study, 170 street food vendors from the Urban Health Training Centre's field practice area in Pune, India, were evaluated through face-to-face interviews. The compliance of street food vendors was systematically evaluated across four key domains. Multinomial logistic, gamma regression model and factor analysis were used to examine the association between the independent variables and compliance among food vendors.

resultsIn multinomial logistic regression, we found that being male was associated with higher odds of better personal hygiene compliance (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.10-1.55, p = 0.002), and being unmarried was associated with higher odds of better Control of Operations compliance (OR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.12-2.16, p = 0.009). Conversely, we found that having no pre-placement examination was associated with lower odds of better Maintenance & Sanitation compliance (OR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.47-0.79, p < 0.001), working as a cook was associated with lower odds of better Design and Facilities compliance (OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.65-0.95, p = 0.013), and lower income was associated with lower odds for the total audit score (OR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.61-0.91, p = 0.005). Using the Gamma GLM (log link), we found positive associations with higher domain scores for males in Personal Hygiene (β = 0.27, 95% CI 0.10-0.44, p = 0.002) and for unmarried vendors in Control of Operations (β = 0.44, 95% CI 0.11-0.77, p = 0.009), and negative associations with lower domain scores for no pre-placement examination in Maintenance & Sanitation (β=-0.49, 95% CI - 0.75 to - 0.23, p < 0.001), cooks in Design and Facilities (β=-0.24, 95% CI - 0.42 to - 0.05, p = 0.013), and lower income for the total audit score (β=-0.29, 95% CI - 0.49 to - 0.09, p = 0.005).

conclusionThe study highlights significant hygiene and sanitation non-compliance among street food vendors in Pune, India which poses a serious public health risk to the large population relying on street food. Although the FSSAI checklist is a valuable monitoring tool, its effectiveness relies on consistent implementations, regular inspections and enforcement.