Wageningen University & Research (WUR) participated in a project to improve street food safety in Burkina Faso. Grilled chicken sellers were offered interactive courses to improve the food safety of their outlets, and an influencer stimulated consumers to buy this safer chicken. Wageningen postdoc Donya Madjdian concluded that these efforts resulted in behavioural changes.
Food poisoning is easily caused by the way grilled chicken is prepared on the market in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou. The carcasses are often washed unhygienically, enabling microbes to spread. Additionally, the grilling times vary, cross-contamination occurs frequently, and vendors fail to take basic measures such as wearing gloves when handling the product. The project selected 160 chicken vendors, 90 of whom were offered training to improve their hygiene and food safety. The remainder served as the experiment's control group.
Knowledge prompts behavioural changes
Madjdian, currently employed by the Helen Keller International NGO, studied whether enhanced knowledge prompted behavioural changes among street food vendors. She used surveys, observations and in-depth interviews to assess whether the "How do I safely prepare chicken" training was effective. For example: did vendors wash the chicken properly after it was slaughtered, did slaughter occur under sanitary regulations, and were gloves worn? She concluded that the training contributed to increased knowledge, awareness, motivation and self-confidence. The vendors reported safer practices, which was confirmed by observations at the outlets. Some of the vendors even reported an increase in customers and revenue.
However, the interviews also exposed a dilemma. Some hygiene measures take time, making the preparation of the chicken more costly and time-consuming, while the essence of street food is that it must be fast. That is what the customer demands and the customer is king.
Better informed about food safety
Parallel to the training, a communications plan was designed by Wageningen Social & Economic Research and ILRI based on a consumer study. The plan aimed to raise awareness of the conditions required for the safe preparation of chicken among consumers in Ouagadougou. A local marketing agency developed a campaign using websites, TV and radio commercials and billboards and enlisted the help of a local influencer to make funny mini clips on the safety of grilled chicken. The scientific evaluation of the campaign revealed that consumers who saw these clips felt they were better informed about food safety.
The research conditions in Burkina Faso were challenging. Two coups took place during the project, and the global COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project. Madjdian was forced to research remotely with the help of local teams. 'The interviews indicate short-term behavioural change. I am eager to travel to Burkina Faso in a couple of years to investigate the long-term efficacy of such interventions.'
