A Nairobi food vendor was on Sunday, February 14, detained by an angry mob after he was busted ferrying fetuses which he intended to use to prepare delicacies for his customers.
The man who sells mutura was discovered by residents as he ferried a ghastly site of fetuses of strange animals on a motorbike.
The fetuses were sprawled on the ground after residents forced the vendor to empty the content of his bag.
It was a shocking scene as residents most of whom had been his customers scratched their heads in shock at the realization that they have been feeding on rodents and dog meat popularly known as ‘nyama soft soft’.
The street vendor was fortunate to have escaped with his life as the mob frog marched him to the police station.
Most street food vendors are not trained on food hygiene and safety. Consumption of street food can lead to food poisoning and foodborne illnesses.
Although studies on the safety of street foods have been carried out in most developing countries, not much has been done in Nairobi.
Back in 2012, the Technical University of Denmark carried out such a study in the Kenyan capital.
56 samples classified using seven modified food groups from 29 vending stalls were evaluated to investigate the microbial safety of street foods.
Total coliforms were detected in vegetables of all locations at unsafe levels of 4.48 and 4.3 for Staphylococcus aureus.
A researcher from the University of Nairobi, in a report published on October 23, warned that more than half of cooked or uncooked ‘mutura’ sold in Nairobi was highly infected with disease-causing germs.
The report read in part, “Our study shows roasted and non-roasted African sausages sold in meat outlets in Nairobi County are contaminated with staphylococcus, Bacillus, Streptococcus, Proteus, and E coli organisms.”
Street food plays a vital socio-economic role by providing food and nutritional supports to the lower and middle-income people at a reasonably low price and is valued for the unique taste of its food items.
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