Food hygiene practices among food vendors in Odeda Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The continuous rise in the incidence of food borne illness has led to an increase in global concern about food hygiene practices among food handlers and vendors.

Objective: To assess the food hygiene practices among food vendors in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria.

Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional design involving 150 food vendors. Semi-structured questionnaire including an observational section modified by Society for Family Health (SFH) Water, Hygiene and Sanitation checklist were used to elicit relevant information. Data were analyzed and presented using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviation and Chi square used to test for association between relevant variables at 0.05 level of significance.

Results: Food vending business was dominated by women (90%), almost 49% were aged 30-40yrs and 66.7% had food handler certificate. The food vendors demonstrated good food hygiene practices as 99.3% wash hands before cooking and after handling raw foods. Observation of environmental and personal hygiene revealed that 54% cooked in clean environment while 80% had no food debris observed on their hands. The food vendors environmental hygiene was influenced by age (p = 0.044), level of education (p = 0.002), monthly income (p = 0.006), and refuse disposal method (p = 0.034).

Conclusion: The food vendors displayed good food hygiene practices with suboptimal environmental practices. Regular environmental inspections by appropriate authorities to enforce and promote adequate environmental measure among food vendors is recommended.