Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents street food's social, economic, cultural, juridical, and bio-medical faces. In a very important breakthrough, the editors present case studies from both developing and developed countries. The book highlights policy implications, making this a practical guidebook that can enable vendors, policy-makers, and organizations to identify best practices and develop strategies fostering more innovative and responsive street food governance. It describes the report of the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition hosted by FAO in 2011, prepared by Blanck, Mirulla, and Rosales. The book explains the opinions, ideas, experiences, and proposals shared by a varied and rich group of specialists from all around the world. It discusses socio-economic role of street foods, what can be done to increase vendors food hygiene knowledge and practice, and how to make sure their role is properly recognized by local authorities.