FACULTY OF ENGLISH FEEDBACKS ON STREET FOOD IN SAIGON By CAO BAO KHANH NGUYEN NGOC HUONG GIANG TRAN VU HONG ANH TANG MY KY Supervisor DO THI SONG TUYEN Ho Chi Minh city December, 2012 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We have taken efforts in this project However, it would not have been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals We are highly indebted to Miss Do Thi Song Tuyen for her guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project and also for her support in completing the project Moreover, we would like to express our gratitude and thanks to our friends, local people, and foreign tourists for their kind cooperation, encouragement, and for giving us such attention and time which helped us in completing this research project TABLE OF CONTENTS List of figures/ tables Abstract Chapter I Introduction 1.1 Statement of problem 1.2 Objective 1.3 Significant Chapter II Literature Review 2.1 Positive aspects of street food .2 2.1.1 Economy and life 2.1.2 Diversity of street food 2.2 Negative aspects of street food 2.2.1 The safety of street food 2.2.2 Street food ruins the city’s landscape 13 Chapter III Methodology 15 3.1 Sampling 15 3.2 Instruments 15 3.3 Procedure 16 Chapter IV Result And Decision 18 Chapter V Conclusion 26 5.1 Summary of the results 26 5.2 Limitation of the study 26 5.3 Recommendation 26 Reference 28 Appendix 30 LIST OF FIGURES/ TABLES Figure 4.1 .18 Figure 4.2 .19 Figure 4.3 .20 Figure 4.4 .21 Figure 4.5 .22 Figure 4.6 .24 Table .23 ABSTRACT It will be a mistake when we talk about Saigon without mentioning about street food in there Street food is an unmissing part of local people Now, more and more foreign tourists are attracted and interested in it Everybody is close-knit to street food nearly every day, but no one really understand about it People can be fascinated by its taste, diversity, cost, but it also has many problems about food hygiene and it can ruin the urban landscape The purpose of this survey was to help everybody understand more about these problems We made the survey on students, local people, foreign tourists by questionnaire From the result of this survey, we gave the specific view about the influences of street food As a result, we show the recommendable solutions for both clients and street-vendors CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Vietnam is an agricultural country of the hot weather and tropical monsoons In addition, Vietnam’s territory is divided into three regions, the North, Central and the South Main features of geography, culture, ethnicity, climate have defined specifically characteristic of each region’s cuisine domain Each domain has a sharp taste characteristics that contributed to Vietnam rich culinary diversity, which is another aspect that attracts foreign tourists besides beautiful scenes Many Vietnamese dishes have become very popular around the world A trip to Vietnam is not complete without tasting street food in here and speaking of it, we can’t miss Saigon because the culinary in here is a various and original combination from many places in Vietnam Street food can be considered as a prominent cultural feature in Saigon However, there are some contrary opinions about it, beside the good things about Saigon street food 1.2 OBJECTIVE The purpose of this report is to investigate the eating habit and opinions of people about Saigon street food 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE This research may provide the influence of street food to not only Vietnamese culinary, but also the culture through opinions of both local people and tourists FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Positive aspects of street food 2.1.1 Economy and life Among the diversity of economic activities such as banking or service, it still has a lot of jobs so simple that we don’t pay in attention despite they happen fluently in our life It is vendor or street vendors According to Sharit K Bhowmik,“Street food vendor is a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having a permanent built-up structure from which to sell.”(Economic and Political Weekly May 28-June 4, 2005 ;Street Vendors in Asia: A Review; p.2256) Most of them come from poor rural so they not possess the skills or the education to enable them to find better job Street vending is one of the few options they have for earning a living Entry into this trade is easier because it does not require a high education , less capital, and easy to find a suitable place in city to sell They may be mobile in the sense they move from place to place by carrying their wares on push carts or in baskets on their heads Therefore street food vendors help solve the jobless FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page Official Statistics on Street Vendors Where national level statistics on street vendors exist, they usually place the share of street vendors in total non-agricultural employment at between and per cent (ILO 2002: 52) Street Vendors as a Share of Total Employment and Total Informal Employment in Cities (2001/03) % of Total % of Total Informal Employment Employment Ahmedabad, India(1999) Hanoi, Vietnam(2007) Ho Chi Minh City, 7.0 6.0 11.3 6.2 11.3 Vietnam(2007) Source: DIAL (2010); Esquivel (2010) In India, street traders represent about per cent of total non-agricultural employment According to official statistics, this translates to more than 3.1 million informal employment In these cities informal traders as a whole comprise 26 and 35 per cent street traders countrywide (Unni 2011) Unofficial estimates suggest there are closer to 10 million (Bhowmik 2010) FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page In the Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, street vendors account for over 11 per cent of total of total informal employment, respectively (DIAL 2011) According to city authorities, academics, and local NGOs, there are about 90,000 street vendors in Dhaka (Bangladesh); 10,000 in Colombo (Sri Lanka); 100,000 in Bangkok (Thailand); 50,000 in Singapore; 47,000 in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); 50,000 in Manila (Philippines); and 800,000 in Seoul (South Korea) (Bhowmik 2010).The informal sector accounts for more than 90 per cent of total trade employment in India and Indonesia (http://wiego.org/informal-economy/occupational-groups/street-vendors) No one can pinpoint when street food vending began in Viet Nam, it seems to have always existed Cultural researchers said that they think this practice could date back thousand of years, when the market began in small town “The number of private street food stalls in Viet Nam has grown extremely rapid since 1986 when the trade was liberalized Before 1986, all food stalls in Vietnam were state-owned An increasing number of urban households in South-East Asia became dependent on the informal sector for a livelihood or for additional income after the financial crisis in 1998.”(Annemarie M.F Hiemstra, Koen G van der Kooy, and Michael Frese; Entrepreneurship in the Street Food Sector of Vietnam – Assessment of Psychological Success and Failure Factors) FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page had more frequently Furthermore, because they were tourists, they didn’t live here much so they didn’t really know how the ingredients and foods were prepared and cooked, while we are local people, who’ve been living here for a long time and also we read news on internet, newspapers about the risks of street food every day Thi s chart will help you understand more about the previous chart In this chart, obviously that the number of local people in Vietnam who had problem about health after having food at street vendors is way higher than foreigners, and it accounts for 70.83%, while that number in foreigners only makes up for 42.7% So FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 21 through the data, we also know that the number of local people who didn’t have any problem after having street food is lower than foreign tourists’ We used this bar chart to describe the elements that people concerned about street food and there clearly have some differences between Vietnamese and foreigners As can be seen in the chart, taste was the thing that Vietnamese cared about the most, 41.6%, when they chose street food and nutrition (or their health) was the last thing they concerned The others elements such as price, location, hygiene were just at an average level of their concerns As for foreign tourists there were 42.6% of them chose the hygiene of street food was the thing FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 22 they concerned most Ranked at second position is the price with 41.6% of people Taste and location account for the same percentage, 33.3% If you look closer to the chart, you can see there’s a common thing between Vietnamese and foreigners Nutrition was the last thing they all cared about The figure in this table showed clearly that the foreigner strongly believed street food can create jobs and this kind of business has a chance to develop strongly in the future than Vietnamese people Because they think that this enterprise as a temporary jobs and it doesn’t have the specific target But in some countries this job has a position in society, the authorities create good conditions to help vendors their business Not only did the Vietnamese people, but also the foreigners saw that more women this FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 23 jobs than men It easy to understand because women are diligent, aptitude for cooking, and they can everything to support their family while the men has a high self-respect, some of them think that this job is more suitable for women, they prefer working in a steady place to moving around They can repair motorbike, or another work which requires the physical strength The chart described both foreign tourists and Vietnamese people’s opinions about the government putting a ban on street food vendors in Saigon 72.22% of people disagreed with this ban For foreigner, they thought that street food is the typical culture of any country and Viet Nam is also It became a integral part in urban life They prefered sitting in the park or FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 24 pavement to enjoy not only food but also everything of normal life than being in a luxury restaurant For Vietnamese people, street food was an important part in their life None of Vietnamese has never had street food Moreover, putting a ban on street food would affect the poor’s life and reduce the variety in Vietnamese cuisine Besides, a small number of people still worried about the hygiene of street food and for them, the authorities should put the law to improve street food hygiene and also create good conditions to help vendors work more easily FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 25 CHAPTER V CONCLUSION 5.1 SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS This study concentrates on researching the eating habit and getting feedbacks of people on street food in Saigon (HCMC) Among the issues based on the results of the study, we found out that nowadays, hygiene, taste, and location are the things which people care about the most and they also have a huge influence on Saigon 5.2 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY We lacked of available and reliable data about Saigon’s street food because this is the new topic research We also lack of prior research studies on this topic These things make us limited the scope of our analysis, the size of our sample, and it was a significant obstacle in finding literature review or lay a foundation for understanding the research problems Besides, because this is the small-scale research, the number of people that did the survey was small We had some difficulties in talking opinions of people, especially foreign tourists The answerer is sometimes unable to answer because they cannot remember or never gave a thought to what they 5.3 RECOMMENDATION FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 26 5.3.1 For the government The government should promulgate some standards about hygiene and food safety of street food and build facilities where each stallholder has a little shop space to sell their food, and create good conditions to maintain and expand this form throughout country 5.3.2 For street vendors They should have sense of responsibility for selling and processing food and try to keep the selling areas clean such as wearing apron, gloves, while selling food for customers 5.3.3 For eaters They should have awareness to protect their health by choosing good places to eat street food FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 27 REFERENCES  Sharit K Bhowk; Economic and Political Weekly; May 28-June 4, 2005; “Street Vendors in Asia: A Review http://wiego.org/informal-economy/occupational-groups/street-vendors  Annemarie M.F Hiemstra, Koen G van der Kooy, and Michael Frese; Entrepreneurship in the Street Food Sector of Vietnam – Assessment of Psychological Success and Failure Factors  Alia Malik, http://www.merrill.umd.edu/dateline/vietnam/vendor2.html  Sarah Turner, Laura Schoenberger; Street Vendor Livelihoods and Everyday Politics in Hanoi, Vietnam: The Seeds of a Diverse Economy; http://usj.sagepub.com/content/49/5/1027.abstract  http://wiego.org/informaleconomy/occupational-groups/street-vendors  http://eatinginhcmc.blogspot.com/2010/10/street-food.html  Powell et al 1990; EPOC 1985, Alizon Draper, Ph.D., Street Foods In Developing Countries: The Potential For Micro Nutrient Fortification  Abdussalam, M., and F K Kaferstein 1993 Safety of street foods World Health Forum14  WHO 1992 Essential safety requirements for street-vended foods Food Safety Unit, Geneva: WHO  IPB et al 1990; Street Foods In Developing Countries: The Potential For Micro Nutrient Fortification  Dave and Robyn; Eating Asia and Wall Street Journal City Walk, http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/saigon/ FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 28  Courtney Sung B.S in Planning Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts.2010 “Spatial Street Vendor Management in Ho Chi Minh City” APPENDICES STREET FOOD QUESTIONNAIRE Please take some time to answer the following questions We need your feedbacks on street food to help us research and find out more about its influences on Saigon (HCM city) Your cooperation is highly appreciated FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 29 From question – 4, please check in one appropriate answer How often you eat street food? Almost everyday Sometimes Hardly Never Where would you prefer this kind of eating to be located at? Near the place you live Near your school/ university Near your company Others (Please state): What you think of the hygiene of street food? Safe Acceptable Not safe at all After having foods at street vendors, have you ever had any problem about your health? Yes, I have Never had any problem Rate the following elements that you concern about street food? (1 - best, - worst) FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 30 Taste Price Location Hygiene Health concerns Select all the things you usually have at street food vendors Coffees Fruit smoothies Soup Milk tea Hamburger/ Bread Vietnamese stired rice paper Juice Ice-cream Spring rolls Others (Please state) _ From - 10, please check FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD one box that appropriate Page 31 Agree No commen t Disagree Street food creates more jobs This kind of business has a chance to develop in the future strongly Women usually this job 10 Men usually this job 11 What would you think if government put a ban on street food vendors in Saigon (HCM city)? Thanks for your help BẢNG CÂU HỎI Xin bạn vui lòng dành chút thời gian để trả lời câu hỏi Chúng cần ý kiến bạn thức ăn đường phố để khảo sát tìm hiểu thêm ảnh hưởng Sài Gịn (tp.HCM) Chúng tơi cảm ơn hợp tác bạn Từ câu 1- 4, đánh dấu vào câu trả lời thích hợp Bạn có thường ăn vặt khơng? FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 32 Hầu ngày Thỉnh thoảng Hiếm Không Bạn thường hay ăn vặt đâu hơn? Gần nhà Gần trường Gần công ty Khác (nêu rõ) Bạn nghĩ tính vệ sinh thức ăn đường phố? An tồn Chấp nhận Khơng an tồn Sau ăn vặt, có bạn gặp vấn đề sức khỏe chưa? Đã Chưa Hãy xếp từ 1-5 yếu tố thức ăn đường phố mà bạn quan tâm (1- quan tâm nhất, 5- quan tâm nhất) FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 33 Hương vị Giá Địa điểm Tính vệ sinh Tính dinh dưỡng Những ăn vặt mà thường ăn/ uống? Cà phê Sinh tố Súp Trà sữa Bánh mì/ Hamburger Bánh tráng trộn Nước trái Kem Gỏi Khác (nêu rõ) _ Từ câu 7-10, đánh dấu FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD vào thích hợp Page 34 Đồng ý Không ý Không đồng kiến ý Việc bán thức ăn đường phố giúp tạo việc làm Hình thức kinh doanh có hội phát triển mạnh tương lai Phụ nữ thường bán đồ ăn vặt 10 Đàn ông thường bán đồ ăn vặt 11 Bạn nghĩ quyền lệnh cấm bán thức ăn đường phố Sài Gòn (tp.HCM)? Xin bạn cho biết ý kiến? Xin chân thành cảm ơn FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 35 ... processing + Danger FEEDBACKS ON SAIGON STREETFOOD Page 10 The containers of processed food if contaminated, contamination of food Contamination can also occur due to not cover, insects, dust, air... equipment and containers of food safety (16%), the majority of violating food safety of small business, and fixed selling street food. Another result in Saigon is up to 26.8% of street food is used... without tasting street food in here and speaking of it, we can’t miss Saigon because the culinary in here is a various and original combination from many places in Vietnam Street food can be considered