Improving Food Safety Standards among Street Vendors in Tobago

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The project will improve the competitiveness and sustainability of Tobago's food vending sector and will also contribute to expansion of opportunities for participation by local micro enterprises in the island ¿s dominant tourism sector. In Tobago, the island's local culinary offerings are a key element in the tourism product. Visitors to Tobago as well as residents frequently consume local foods purchased from the food vendors established popular visitor attractions and clustered on the roadside in the island's popular South West peninsula. In may cases, the products are not the result of sound food processing principles, with their content, appearance and packaging needing significant improvement. Although street vendors are a convenient source of affordable meals for lower and middle-income households and individuals and a draw for tourists visiting Tobago. Street vendors play an important role in food security as well as in the infusion of local content in the island's tourism sector, however the street food vendor sector represents a primary source of contamination and disease. Consumption of these products places the public at risk for food borne illnesses, the incidence of which has been increasing regionally and internationallyGeneral Objectives: The general objective of the project is to improve food safety and handling practices of Tobago's street vendors and microprocessors.Specific Objectives: Specific project objectives include the following:- To create awareness of the importance of food safety as a platform for national and tourism development;- To promote the availability of safe food for domestic consumers and tourists by improving food safety management and practices among Street Vendors and Microprocessors in Tobago;- To enhance the marketability/competitiveness of products produced by Street Vendors and Microprocessors in the targeted areas, via improved product quality/adoption of food safety standards;- To facilitate the promotion of local micro enterprise participation in the tourism industry, with particular focus on culinary tourism; and- To create a sustainable and replicable model for enhancing food safety standards among street vendors in Trinidad and within the wider Caribbean. This project is a "pilot" initiative that is designed to improve food safety standards among a select group of Street Vendors and Microprocessors in Tobago. The project components are as follows: 1. Food Safety Awareness Building targeted at vendors and microprocessors in Tobago 2. Conduct of a Baseline Assessment and Selection of at least 30 street vendors to participate in an intervention program 3. Implementation of Food Safety Practices including training and on site implementation of food storage, preparation and handling practices at participants' place of business, as well as exposure to a model vending booth 4. Post Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation of results