Nutritional content of the street food purchased in Chișinău, Moldova: Opportunity for policy action

This study aimed to describe the street food purchased and its nutritional value in Chișinău, Moldova. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 68 street food vending sites. Data on the food items purchased were collected through direct observation. Nutritional composition was estimated through chemical analyses, food composition tables or nutrition labels. From the 151 customers observed, two-thirds purchased industrial food items, most commonly buns/cakes/cookies (15.2%), soft drinks/industrial juices (15.2%) and confectionery (10.6%). The purchases were energy dense (median: 362 kcal/100g), rich in saturated fat (5.6 g), trans fat (0.43 g) and sodium (585 mg) and poor in potassium (212 mg).