Research on the relationship between street food price and nutritional value in Wuhan in the post-epidemic era

Abstract

ObjectiveTo provide scientific guidance for consumers to choose nutritious and cheap foods， the association between street food prices and nutritional value in Wuhan was analyzed.MethodsOne gourmet street was randomly selected from Jianghan， Jiang’an and Wuchang District of Wuhan City， respectively. Fifty two kinds of street foods of 6 types （barbecue， frying， steaming， baking， beverage and cold food） were selected， and the prices were recorded. After analyzing the nutrient components through standard testing in laboratory and using nutrition calculators， energy prices and the average price of nutrient-rich food （NRF6.3） index was calculated. The correlation between unit price and NRF6.3 index was analyzed by Spearman rank sum test.ResultsBaked food had the highest energy density， reaching 308.41 kcal/100 g， while beverages had the lowest energy density， reaching 79.35 kcal/100 g（P0.05）.ConclusionThe overall price of street food in Wuhan is relatively high with high energy density， while the price of NRF6.3 index is low. This results suggest that， for the same price， the recommended nutrient content of street food is not high， and the nutritional value is low， which does not meet the requirements of a healthy diet.

Keywords

• street food
• food price
• nutrient value
• nutrient-rich food