The study was conducted among Bazaar Ramadhan street food handlers of North Seberang Perai. North Seberang Perai is one of the five administrative districts in Penang, Malaysia. It is the largest district with an area of 262.53 sq km and is a semi-urban district. The administrative office of the district is located in Kepala Batas, and the largest city is Butterworth. Other towns include Tasek Gelugor, Bertam, Bagan Ajam, Perai, Sungai Dua, and Teluk Ayer Tawar.
The district is also under the administration of the Local Authority, the Seberang Perai Municipal Council. Divided into three parliamentary constituencies, namely the Parliament of Kepala Batas, Tasek Gelugor, and Bagan. Two Bazaar Ramadhan premises were selected in each parliament where at least 150 respondents consisted of food handlers.
High-risk food stalls will be chosen to answer the questionnaire that will be distributed. The purpose is to choose a high-risk food stall because it easily contributes to foodborne illness. For example, grilled meat. Grilled meat such as satay and kebab have been identified as high-risk foods due to the potential for undercooking and cross-contamination. This can result in the presence of harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter (Abas et al., 2020). Next, beverages such as iced drinks and milk-based drinks have been found to be potential sources of contamination due to the use of contaminated ice and improper storage (Abas et al., 2020).
Desserts such as kuih and sweet pastries may contain eggs and dairy products that can spoil quickly in the warm and humid environment of the bazaar, leading to the growth of harmful bacteria (Nordin et al., 2019). Other than that, seafood such as grilled fish and seafood curry have been identified as high-risk foods due to the potential for contamination with harmful bacteria such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Staphylococcus aureus (Abas et al., 2020). Edible ice in drinks also has a potential risk of contamination.
Based on a past study, they found that the ice samples used in beverages and foods in Pakistan were contaminated with a variety of bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause foodborne illnesses.
