MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION OF FOOD AND FOOD SAFETY PRACTICES OF STREET FOOD VENDORS IN SELECTED MARKETS OF ACCRA TAKORADI AND SENCHI GHANA

ABSTRACT

Street food vending plays an important role in the economies of developing countries. The process of preparing, handling and storing food by streetfood vendors, however, leaves much to be desired as basic hygiene and food safety issues are particularly important because food and water are essential requirements for living. Failure to observe proper food safety practices exposes people to all manner of foodborne diseases and death. In Ghana, though the state agencies responsible for food safety have been providing food safety education for many years, not much has been achieved. This study sought to investigate food safety and hygienic practices of street food vendors in selected markets in Accra, Takoradi and Senchi. Primary data was derived from administration of a set of 300 questionnaires among randomly selected respondents aged 18 to 66 years who took part in the study. A total of 15 stakeholders from the FDA, EPA, GSA, MMDAs and 1 metro health directorate of the Assemblies were also interviewed using a structured interview schedule developed for the purpose. Additionally, 116 food and 22 water samples for the two seasons (Wet/Dry) were collected and analysed in the laboratory and the results analysed using Bivariate and Multivariate regression analysis. The results showed that age and education appeared to be important factors for food safety perception while education and training on food safety were factors influencing attitude on good hygiene practices. The study revealed that majority of respondents had limited knowledge on microorganisms and their effect on human health. In all, attitude/perception, age, education, training, medical screening and certification of food vendors largely influence food safety practice. The number of years in street food vending had no relationship with the adherence to food safety practices (0