A preliminary study on the quality of street vended foods around a university in Kunming, China

Abstract

The street vended foods (SVF) are very popular in China, particularly in highly adolescents populated regions such as schools. Food quality is a critical global issue, but there are few studies describe the quality assessment of SVF. In this study, the quality of SVF around a university in Kunming was evaluated, including the microbial quality, proximate composition, oil quality, and heavy metal content. Microbial results showed that the aerobic plate count (APC) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) counts ranged from 1.94 to 7.43 log CFU/g or ml, and 0.53 to 1.48 log CFU/g or ml, respectively. A portion of fried snack samples exceed the standard limit of acid value (AV) and peroxide value (POV), and the same result was observed in carbonyl group value (CGV), thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, viscosity, and conductivity. The proximate composition of the fried snack samples varied widely, while the fat content was generally higher. The heavy metal analysis showed most samples met the safety standards, with the content of 12–51, 1–19, 12–73, and 11–88 μg/kg for As, Hg, Cd, and Pb, respectively. In conclusion, although the overall results of this study were satisfying, more attention should be given to the quality of SVF. Consequently, there is a need for additional measures to protect consumers, particularly young adults in college, from foodborne disease.