The open sale of bread across streets, roadside stalls and busy markets in The Gambia is under increasing scrutiny following the release of a new food safety survey that exposes widespread contamination risks and dangerous hygiene practices threatening public health.
The Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) survey on open bread selling and food safety has revealed alarming gaps between what Gambians know about food contamination and the unsafe practices that continue daily in urban communities.
Conducted by journalist and researcher Isatou Ceesay Bah and analysed by Hamadi Sowe, a public health researcher, the study surveyed 46 respondents comprising mainly consumers alongside a smaller number of bread vendors. Though relatively small in scale, the findings paint a worrying picture of a food safety problem many experts believe has become normalised across the country.
Bread remains one of the most consumed foods in Gambian households, eaten daily by children, workers, students and families across all income levels. Yet in almost every major town, loaves are openly displayed along dusty roadsides, carried on bicycles without protective covering, stacked in wheelbarrows, exposed in crowded markets or sold in environments surrounded by traffic fumes, flies and poor sanitation.
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The study found that public awareness of the risks associated with open bread selling is remarkably high. Respondents overwhelmingly identified dust, flies, dirty hands, smoke from vehicles, unsafe wrapping materials and poor bakery hygiene as major contamination sources.
Many participants also linked these unsafe conditions to serious illnesses including diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, food poisoning and stomach infections.
According to the report, awareness levels on food borne disease risks ranged between 95 and 100 percent, demonstrating that most Gambians understand the dangers associated with exposed food.
However, despite this awareness, unsafe behaviour remains widespread.
The survey revealed that between 50 and 60 percent of respondents purchase bread daily, mostly from roadside vendors, open trays and small shops where hygienic handling standards are often absent.
Many vendors were reported to handle bread with bare hands while simultaneously touching money, serving customers and operating in dusty roadside conditions without gloves, aprons or protective storage containers.
The report warns that bread, unlike many foods, is particularly vulnerable because it is consumed directly without further cooking, meaning any contamination introduced during transportation, display or sale goes straight into the body.
Food safety experts say this creates serious public health risks, especially in densely populated urban centres where environmental pollution is high and monitoring systems remain weak.
Speaking in an extensive interview, Dr. Edrissa Baldeh, Principal Food Inspector at the Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA), acknowledged that the situation presents one of the country's major food safety challenges.
"The risks are multiple and well-documented," Dr. Baldeh said.
"When bread is displayed openly along roadsides, in markets or transported without protective covering, it becomes exposed to dust, exhaust fumes, insects particularly flies which carry pathogens and direct handling by people who may not have washed their hands."
He explained that the informal nature of The Gambia's food system makes regulation difficult, with thousands of vendors operating outside formal food safety structures.
"The overwhelming majority of Gambians access food through street vendors, open markets and corner shops that largely operate outside formal regulatory systems," he explained. "People can set up a stall or table at any time and start selling food without going through proper channels."
Dr. Baldeh said many vendors operate under harsh economic conditions and often lack access to clean water, hygienic vending spaces, proper packaging materials and adequate storage facilities.
"In many cases, there is also limited food safety training among vendors. This is one of our biggest challenges because it is difficult for people to change habits if they do not fully understand the reasons behind food safety standards," he added.
The report also exposes broader structural weaknesses within the country's food safety system, including weak inspections, poor sanitation around vending areas, inadequate waste management and inconsistent enforcement of food safety regulations.
Respondents strongly criticised the widespread use of newspapers and unsafe packaging materials to wrap bread, warning that chemical residues and dirt from such materials could further increase contamination risks.
Nearly 70 to 80 percent of respondents described open bread selling as a "very high-risk" activity and agreed that authorities should urgently intervene before the situation escalates into major public health emergencies.
The survey further identified a troubling "knowledge-practice gap," where consumers and vendors acknowledge risks but continue unsafe behaviour due to convenience, poverty, cultural habits and weak enforcement.
"Handling money and food simultaneously has become normal for many people," Dr. Baldeh noted. "Open display of food has also become culturally accepted, but these practices are wrong and dangerous."
He stressed that while economic hardship remains a reality, public health cannot be compromised.
"Before starting a food business, people should first think about protecting public health," he said. "FSQA prioritises public safety above business profit."
The Authority, according to Dr. Baldeh, has intensified nationwide sensitisation campaigns, inspections and food safety trainings targeting bakeries, restaurants, food vendors, schools and markets.
He said inspectors routinely assess hygiene standards, food handling methods, storage conditions, waste disposal systems and environmental sanitation during inspections.
Where serious violations are identified, the Authority has powers to issue warnings, seize unsafe food products, close facilities and initiate prosecution.
Dr. Baldeh also disclosed that government's new Food Testing Laboratory is expected to transform food safety regulation in the country once fully operational.
"When this laboratory becomes functional, it will be a game changer," he stated. "It will strengthen our ability to conduct scientific testing and respond quickly to unsafe food products in the market."
The KAP survey concludes with strong recommendations aimed at reducing contamination risks and strengthening consumer protection.
These include mandatory covering of bread during transportation and sale, routine hygiene training for vendors, stronger market inspections, vendor certification systems, improved bakery standards, safer packaging materials and expanded public education campaigns.
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The report also calls for stronger collaboration between municipalities, public health institutions, local authorities and food safety regulators to address the growing challenge collectively.
Consumers were equally urged to become more vigilant by purchasing food only from hygienic sources and reporting unsafe food handling practices to authorities.
"We are your servants and it is your right to have safe food," Dr. Baldeh emphasised. "Food safety is a shared responsibility from the farm to the table."
As concerns over foodborne diseases continue to rise globally, the findings of the study have intensified calls for urgent reforms in The Gambia's food safety sector.
For many observers, the message emerging from the report is both simple and alarming: while awareness is high, action remains dangerously limited leaving thousands of Gambians exposed daily to preventable health risks hidden in one of the country's most common foods.
Musa Camara, Director of Health Services at the Western Health Region, emphasised the importance of observing basic hygiene practices, saying such measures would support both present and future governments in reducing the financial burden of healthcare on individuals, families, and the nation as a whole.
"Every citizen or resident of The Gambia eats bread," he said, warning that illnesses such as diarrhea caused by contaminated bread and other food products must be prevented to avoid absenteeism from schools, workplaces, and businesses.
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