Street foods play important socioeconomic and cultural roles and are popular worldwide. In addition to providing convenient and low-cost meals for urban populations, street food offers an essential source of income for vendors, especially women, and it can reflect traditional local culture, which is an important attraction for tourists. Despite these benefits, the microbiological safety of street food has become a worldwide concern because it is often prepared and sold under inadequate safety conditions, without legal control and sanitary surveillance. Consequently, high counts of fecal indicator bacteria and several foodborne pathogens have been detected in street foods. This review provides insight into the microbiology of street food, focus on the associated microbiological safety aspects and main pathogens, and the global status of this important economic activity. Furthermore, the need to apply molecular detection rather than traditional culture-based methods is discussed to better understand the actual risks of microbial infection associated with street foods. Recognition is always the first step toward addressing a problem.

Introduction: Weissella paramesenteroides UFTM 2.6.1, isolated from unpasteurized milk, is a potentially probiotic strain exhibiting desirable properties previously demonstrated in vitro, along with a confirmed safe and promising genetic profile based on whole-genome analysis. Due to the limited research on the ability of Weissella species to synthesize compounds with anti-quorum sensing activity, this study aimed to investigate the potential of W. paramesenteroides UFTM 2.6.1 to disrupt quorum sensing (QS) signaling and attenuate the virulence of Listeria monocytogenes, an important foodborne pathogen responsible for the zoonotic disease listeriosis.Methods: The effects of W. paramesenteroides cell-free supernatant (Wp-CFS) were evaluated on the growth, biofilm formation, motility, and expression of QS- and virulence-related genes in L. monocytogenes.Results: Wp-CFS exhibited bacteriostatic activity against L. monocytogenes strains isolated from food and food processing environments (n = 21). Additionally, it consistently reduced biofilm formation and swarming motility, two well-known QS-regulated phenotypes in L. monocytogenes. Exposure to Wp-CFS (0.25x MIC; 7.81 mg/mL), at 28°C for 24 h, significantly downregulated the relative expression of the genes luxS, agrA, flaA, motA, motB, and degU, whereas the genes sigB, and prfA were upregulated.Conclusion: This study represents the first report demonstrating the production of compounds by W. paramesenteroides aimed at disrupting the QS system of L. monocytogenes, offering novel insights into alternative approaches to attenuate pathogen virulence without relying on traditional antimicrobials.