Emergence of antimicrobial resistance in street vendor food: A global perspective on bacterial contamination, resistance mechanisms, and mitigation strategies

Sinha, Alisha; Mishra, Poonamrani; Sahoo, Ambika; Sahoo, Debasish; Sahu, Mahesh Chandra

doi:10.21608/mid.2025.349321.2429

Emergence of antimicrobial resistance in street vendor food: A global perspective on bacterial contamination, resistance mechanisms, and mitigation strategies

Articles in Press

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

¹ Centre for Biotechnology, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Kalinganagar, Bhubaneswar-751003, Oisha, India

² Department of Microbiology, IMS and SUM Hospital, Kalinganagar, Bhubaneswar-751003, Odisha, India

³ Division of Microbiology, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar-751023, Odisha, India.

10.21608/mid.2025.349321.2429

Abstract

Background: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a critical threat to global health, significantly contributing to morbidity and mortality. Environmental surveillance has pointed out that street-vended food is a reservoir and vector for the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, but its involvement in the dissemination of infectious diseases remains underappreciated. This review brings together national and international studies on the bacteriological quality of street food and its link with antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The most commonly identified foodborne pathogens are Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Klebsiella pneumoniae that cause vomiting, diarrhea, and severe infections of the gut. As high as 60% of street foods contain ESBL and MBL-producing bacteria and are resistant to more than 70% of first-line antibiotics. Contamination relates to poor hygiene, including low handwashing abilities (73.3% of vendors), use of un-treated water sources (40%), and poor hygiene in food handling (60% of vendors do not trim their nails). External environmental exposure in the form of flies, rodents, and birds increases the transmission of bacteria. Horizontal gene transfer, efflux pumps, and plasmid mediated resistance mechanisms add complexities to the problems. The first cause is poor awareness and measures of sanitation at the level of the vendors. Weak food safety regulations, poor waste management, and low surveillance of microbes heighten the risk. This review calls for urgent implementation of food safety policies, better sanitation infrastructure, regular microbial monitoring, and hygiene training of vendors. Moreover, affordable kits for testing microbes can be used for the early detection of MDR pathogens.

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