Food Hygiene Awareness, Processing and Practice among Street Food Vendors in Ghana

Food poisoning and other food borne diseases could occur through poor hygiene practices, especially in areas where food and drinks are served. In most cities around the world, selling of whole meals on the streets is an important means to generating income. Unfortunately, the emergence of informal food businesses can cause health problems if the foods are not prepared and handled under hygienic conditions. Therefore, there is a need to look into the operations of food vendors to ascertain whether they are adhering to proper hygiene practices. The study was descriptive cross-sectional in design with a Multi-stage sampling technique applied in selecting 266 food vendors. Study specific structured questionnaires were used in the data collection. Data were entered into statistical product and service solutions version 20 for analysis. Absolute and relative frequencies were displayed using tabulations. Chi-square test was done to ascertain the associations between the practice of food hygiene and various explanatory variables. Multiple logistic regressions were used to test the strength of associations between various variables and the outcome variable. There was almost a universal awareness of food and personal hygiene among vendors (90%). As a result, a greater percentage of the vendors adhered to basic hygiene practices (87%). The study found that storage of food for resale (Chi-square=256.329, p-value Chi-Square=17.035, P ) were the main predictors of food hygiene practice among vendors. After controlling for confounders through adjusted odds ratios, only awareness that the source of water can contribute to food hygiene, was a determinant of food hygiene practice (OR 0.548, CI 0.316-0.948). In assessing the frequency of hand washing, majority (44%) washed hands every 20-30 minutes, and 42% at each serving. Those who washed every 1hour were 14%. Considering that a percentage of vendors are yet to adopt basic hygiene practices, it will be prudent to ensure continuous education and enforcement of policy regulations within the food industry.