Patterns of Food Safety and Hygiene Practices Among Food Vendors in Government Primary School, Ikenne Local Government, Ogun State

Abstract

Food borne illness has continued to be a serious public health problem in developing countries especially among school children (who are known as the high-risk group for intestinal parasitic infections), and this can be prevented by good hygiene practices among vendors in the schools. School children are exposed to hazards of purchasing and consuming food from food vendors who may harbour dangerous pathogens or have the potential of spreading infection to a large number of other students, owing to their food safety and hygiene practices. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the pattern of food safety and hygiene practices among food vendors in public primary schools in Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and the target population comprised 48 food vendors. The analysis revealed that 8.3% of the respondents had low knowledge of food safety and hygiene, 18.8% had moderate knowledge and 72.9% of them had high knowledge of food safety and hygiene. One-third of the respondents (33.3%) moderately practice food safety and hygiene and 66.7% highly practice food safety and hygiene. Factors that affected food safety and hygiene practices were access to protective equipment (100%), access to potable water (100%) and indoor food preparation environment (50%). There was a significant difference in the pattern of practice of food safety and hygiene among food vendors based on the level of knowledge of food safety and hygiene practice (p=0.000; t=45.208) and the level of education of the food vendors (p=0.00; t= 52.208). The study concluded that knowledge of food safety and hygiene practices among food vendors in public primary schools in Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria was high, though there was moderate practice. The study recommended that food vendors should be exposed to more training, regular monitoring, as well as providing basic facilities for food preparation in order to prevent the outbreak of food borne diseases among children.