toxicological hazards of street foods in developing countries

Street food vending represents an important food security strategy for low-income communities worldwide.However, no comprehensive risk analysis framework yet exists as regards specific aspects of chemical/ toxicological hazards in street foods. Indeed, all steps of street food production and vending can be vulnerable, from the selectionof raw materials, through to the storage and preparation of meals and even the vending site, often exposed to urbanpollutants. Relevant examples are cheap ingredients with illegal or undesirable residues, substances arising in poorlystored commodities (e.g., mycotoxins, histamine in scombroid fish), metals leaching from cookware, and process contaminants such as PAHs and acrylamide. As a consequence, greater awareness and preventive measures need tobe implemented for coping with chemical/toxicological risk factors in a systematic and effective way. This reviewproposes specific points of attention for street foods preparation and vending with related hazard-tailored actions.The proposed measures in street food vending could integrate the prevention of biological risk factors, in order topromote comprehensive and up-to-date consumer safety.