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. 2022 Apr 25:67:1604558.
doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604558. eCollection 2022.

Availability and Nutritional Composition of Street Food in Urban Central Asia: Findings From Almaty, Kazakhstan

Gabriela Albuquerque  1   2 , Inês Lança de Morais  3 , Marcello Gelormini  3 , Sofia Sousa  1   2   4 , Susana Casal  1   5 , Olívia Pinho  4   5 , Albertino Damasceno  1   2   6   7 , Pedro Moreira  1   2   4   8 , João Breda  9 , Nuno Lunet  1   2   6 , Patrícia Padrão  1   2   4
Affiliations

Availability and Nutritional Composition of Street Food in Urban Central Asia: Findings From Almaty, Kazakhstan

Gabriela Albuquerque et al. Int J Public Health. .

Abstract

Objective: To describe the availability and nutritional composition of commonly available street foods in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Methods: 384 street food vending sites (in 10 public markets) were assessed; information on vending sites' characteristics and food availability and samples of the most commonly available street foods (81 homemade; 40 industrial) were collected for chemical analysis. Results: Fruit, beverages and food other than fruit were available in 1.0%, 47.4% and 92.7% of all vending sites. Homemade food other than fruit (e.g., bread, main dishes, snacks, pastries, sandwiches, and cakes) were available in 63.4% of stationary vending sites, while industrial (e.g., snacks, chocolate, cakes, and cookies) in 45.6% of them. Industrial foods were the most energy-dense [median kcal/100 g: 438.8 vs. 267.2, p < 0.001 (homemade)]. Traditional homemade dishes were high in sodium, reaching 2,248 mg/serving (lagman) and major contributors of protein and fat to energy content (shashlik: 22.8% from protein, 68.3% from fat). Industrial chocolate and homemade cake presented the highest saturated (14.6 g/serving) and trans-fat (3.20 g/serving) contents. Conclusion: These findings advocate for the implementation of health promotion strategies targeted at vendors, consumers and other stakeholders.

Keywords: Kazakhstan; central asia; nutritional value; public health; ready-prepared foods; street food.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Geographical distribution of the markets and street food vending sites (Almaty, Kazakhstan. 2017).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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