To review studies examining the nutritional value of street foods and their contribution to the diet of consumers in developing countries.

The electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Proquest Health and Science Direct were searched for articles on street foods in developing countries that included findings on nutritional value.

From a total of 639 articles, twenty-three studies were retained since they met the inclusion criteria. In summary, daily energy intake from street foods in adults ranged from 13 % to 50 % of energy and in children from 13 % to 40 % of energy. Although the amounts differed from place to place, even at the lowest values of the percentage of energy intake range, energy from street foods made a significant contribution to the diet. Furthermore, the majority of studies suggest that street foods contributed significantly to the daily intake of protein, often at 50 % of the RDA. The data on fat and carbohydrate intakes are of some concern because of the assumed high contribution of street foods to the total intakes of fat, trans-fat, salt and sugar in numerous studies and their possible role in the development of obesity and non-communicable diseases. Few studies have provided data on the intake of micronutrients, but these tended to be high for Fe and vitamin A while low for Ca and thiamin.

Street foods make a significant contribution to energy and protein intakes of people in developing countries and their use should be encouraged if they are healthy traditional foods.

To assess the contribution of street foods to the energy and nutrient needs of street food vendors.

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Food intake for the street food vendors was measured using the 24 h recall method and a semi-quantitative FFQ with emphasis on the source of all foods consumed.

Kampala, Jinja and Masaka districts, Uganda.

The study included 225 street food vendors trading in prepared cooked foods.

The majority of vendors (87·6 %) were women with age range of 21–50 years. Traditional dishes were the most commonly prepared foods and classified into main meals, sauces, vegetables and snacks. The food groups consumed most commonly by street food vendors fall under energy-giving and body-building foods (0·26 (sd 0·81)). The mean daily intake of energy from street foods varied between 22·4 % and 25·6 % (2412 kJ). Carbohydrates contributed the highest proportion of energy (70·1 % to 93·4 %), followed by protein (38·6 % to 44·9 %) and fat (21·9 % to 26·3 %). Street food vendors obtained 24·0 % to 32·5 % of their RDA for Ca from street vended foods, with the lowest intake in Jinja (11·2 % to 23·9 %, P < 0·05). Niacin and thiamin intakes from street foods were respectively above 74 % and 150 % of the RDA. The contribution of street foods to the RDA for Zn ranged from 81·9 % to 190·9 %, and from 3·5 % to 4·9 % for retinol. Fe intake from street vended foods was 40·9 % to 49·7 % of the RDA.

Street foods contribute to sources of dietary energy and other nutrients among street food vendors in Uganda.