Factors Influencing Food Safety and Hygiene Practices among Food Vendors in the Bibiani-Anwhiaso-Bekwai Municipality.

Introduction

Foodborne infections have become more prevalent globally over time, negatively affecting the health and economic wellbeing of both developing and developed nations. In many parts of the world, a serious public health issue is the lack of food safety regulations. Globally, approximately 60% of the diseases are caused by foodborne infections.^1,2

Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that all food handlers in food service facilities accept hygienic practices concerning food safety. The WHO also recommends the following measures to ensure a hygienic environment for safe food preparation and service: adequate drainage and waste disposal systems in facilities; adequate supply of potable water and the construction of drainage systems that safeguard and avoid contamination of potable water; and washing and sanitizing all surfaces and equipment used for preparation of food.^2,3 The standard requires that process control requirements be satisfied at each step of the food-handling process (receipt, storage, processing, display, packaging, distribution, disposal, and food recall). Consequently, the key practices for ensuring food safety are controlling time and temperature, practicing good personal hygiene, preventing cross-contamination, and purchasing food supplies from approved dealers. To focus on these areas, there is a need to follow the established standard operation procedures.^4,5

According to Abdi et al., in their study conducted in 2020, food hygiene standards are worse in African nations, as a study in Addis Ababa established that only 50% of food handlers had maintained a good level of hygiene.⁶ Several risk factors, such as inappropriate time intervals, unsuitable temperature, weather conditions, unhygienic activities, unacceptable handling of foods, food from insecure origins, impoverished self-cleanliness, improper cleaning of cooking materials, use of untreated water, and improper food storage have been attributed to the causes of foodborne diseases (FBDs). Furthermore, the neglect of hygienic measures by food handlers has been implicated as an enabler for the spread of pathogenic microorganisms and the cause of infections among consumers.^7,8

In Ghana, Food poisoning occurs in individual homes and commercial and institutional catering sites. Commercial catering includes hotels, restaurants, finished products from retailers and food vendors. Institutional catering includes schools, hospitals, daycare centers, prisons, and industry-staff kitchens. Restaurants and individual food vendors have been identified as sources of foodborne disease.^9,10

There are laws and regulations that local governments use when necessary to restrict the number of quick-serve restaurants or other establishments that sell primarily unhealthy foods in a community, and to promote the presence of establishments that sell fresh produce and other healthy options in Ghana. It is therefore prudent that every restaurant or food vending owner abides by all the rules and regulations spelled out by the local governments.¹¹

In contrast, most food vendors in the Bibiani Municipality contaminated foods through improper processing, preservation, and services, such as improper refrigeration, prolonged handling, and inadequate reheating of cooked food.¹² Most food vendors along the streets and markets of Bibiani do not adhere to the food hygiene practices. Even more concerning is the fact that food vendors frequently violate the most basic sanitary and hygienic standards for food safety on the streets of Bibiani municipality. Poor food hygiene practices can cause foodborne diseases, such as cholera, typhoid fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and even death. Therefore, this study aimed to ascertain the factors that influence food safety and hygiene practices among food vendors in the Bibiani Municipality.

Methods

Results

Table 1 presents the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. Of the 152 respondents, 106 (69.7%) were 18–25 years old, followed in order by those in age groups 26–35, 35 representing 23.0%, and 11 respondents representing 7.3% were 36–45 years old. In addition, 79 of the respondents (52.0%) had been to SHS, with 30 representing 19.7% having attained primary or JHS education, 23 representing 15.1% had no formal education, and 20 representing 13.2% had been in tertiary school.

Regarding marital status, 102 respondents (67.1%) were single, 41 (26.9%) were married, 8 (5.3%) were divorced, and 1 (0.7%) was widowed. Finally, 146 respondents (96.0%) had been in the food vending business for one to five years. Five respondents (3.3%) had been in the food vending business for over 10 years, and only one respondent (0.7%) had been in the business for less than a year.

Table 2 indicates that out of 152 respondents, 136 (89.5%) put leftover foods in the refrigerator, while eight respondents constituting 5.2% put charcoal in the food, seven representing 4.6% put food pans in water, and one respondent representing 0.7% adopted reheating. With regard to how respondents preserved foods before cooking, 102 (67.1%) put food in the fridge, 22 (14.5%) cooked foods, 15 (9.9%) applied salt, 6 (3.9%) used smoking to preserve their food, 4 (2.6%) used drying as their preservation method, and 3 (2.0%) did not use any preservation method.

Table 3 shows that 116 respondents (76.3%) used a serving spoon when dishing food, 28 (18.4%) used hands covered with rubber, and 8 (5.3%) used bare hands.

With regard to hand washing, 109 (71.7%) washed their hands as often as they became dirty, 22 (14.5%) washed hands after using the washroom, and 21 (13.8%) washed hands after dishing food. In addition, 98 (64.5%) of the respondents used soap and water in a bowl to wash their hands, 51 (33.6%) used soap under running water to wash their hands, and 3 respondents (1.9%) used hand sanitizers for hand hygiene. Moreover, 80 of the respondents (52.6%) threw water away whenever dirty, 41 (27.0%) discarded water only once daily, and 31 (20.4%) discarded water twice daily.

Concerning environmental hygiene at various vending sites, 113 respondents (74.3%) cleaned their surroundings once daily, 25 (16.5%) cleaned their surroundings twice daily, and 14 (9.2%) cleaned their environment three times a day. Moreover, 111 of the respondents (73.0%) had undergone a medical examination, while the remaining 41 (27.0%) had not done a medical examination.

Table 4 indicates responses from respondents on food preparation practices, 54 (35.5%) used firewood in preparing their food, 42 (27.6%) used charcoal for cooking, and 56 (36.8%) used gas stoves for cooking.

Discussions

This study aimed to determine food safety and hygiene practices among food vendors in Bibiani. This study sought to answer the following research questions: What are the food storage practices that food vendors employ for their businesses? Under what hygiene practices are food vending performed? How is food prepared by vendors in Bibiani?

The results of the study revealed that in responses concerning food storage and preservation methods used by respondents, 89.5% put leftover food in the refrigerator, while others constituting 5.2% put charcoal in the food, 4.6% put food pans in water, and 0.7% adopted reheating. With regard to how respondents preserved foods before cooking, 67.1% put foods in the fridge, 14.5% cooked foods, 9.9% applied salt, 2.6% used the smoking method, and 2.0% did not use any of the methods mentioned. This is consistent with a study conducted⁸ on food safety knowledge, attitude, and hygiene practices of street-cooked food handlers in North Dayi District, which revealed that over half (56%) of street food vendors in North Dayi stored their leftover foods and other foodstuffs in refrigerators.

Concerning responses to the hygienic practices of food vendors and various vending sites, 76.3% of the respondents used a serving spoon when dishing food, 18.4% used a hand covered with rubber, and 5.3% used a bear hand. This finding contradicts a study that Ref. 13 investigated the safety of food in chop bars on Ghanaian Streets and revealed that the majority of food vendors use their bare hands to serve food, which increases the level of food contamination for consumers. Seventy-seven percent (71.7%) washed their hands as often as they became dirty, 14.5% washed hands after using the washroom, and 13.8% washed hands after dishing food. A larger number (64.5%) of the respondents used soap and water during handwashing. In other hand hygiene techniques, as indicated by respondents, 33.6% used soap under running water, and 1.9% applied sanitizer on their hands.

This is consistent with a study conducted¹⁴ on knowledge and practices of handwashing among street food vendors in the Keetmanshoop Municipal area, which concluded that the majority (91%) of street food vendors strongly agreed with the fact that hand washing is performed with water and soap. Furthermore, this contradicts a study¹⁵ on hygiene in restaurants and among street food vendors in Bangladesh, which revealed that only 28 percent of respondents used water and soap to wash their hands before dishing food.

Moreover, 41.7% of the respondents throw water away whenever dirty, 33.3% discarded water only once daily, and 25.0% discarded water twice daily. This finding contradicts a related study by Ref. 15 Hygiene in Restaurants and among Street Food Vendors in Bangladesh, which revealed that 40 percent (122/300) of restaurants and 44 percent (258/600) of food vendors used saved, recycled water to clean their utensils.

Concerning environmental hygiene at various vending sites, the majority of the respondents (81.5%) cleaned their surroundings once daily, and 18.1% cleaned their surroundings twice daily. This is in line with a related study¹⁶ on food safety knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of street food vendors and consumers in Handan, a third-tier city in China, which showed that 23.3% and 13.3% covered or were half covered, respectively. This leaves their environmental conditions unhygienic.

Moreover, 73.0% had undergone a medical examination, while the remainder (27.0%) had not done a medical examination. This is consistent with a study by Ref. 10 the Knowledge Base on Food Borne Diseases and Hygiene in Ghana: Appraisal of Food Vendors in Oguaa Koforidua, which concluded that the majority of respondents (60%) had medical certificates compared to 40% without medical certificates.

Of the total number of respondents, 86.2% washed their foodstuffs before cooking. In addition, 82.9% of the cooking utensils were washed with soap and water before use. This finding is consistent with a study by Ref. 17 Safe Food Handling Knowledge and Practices of Street Food Vendors in Polokwane Central Business District, which concluded that the majority (82.1%) of street food vendors washed raw food properly before cooking, while 63.5% of vendors said they cleaned their serving utensils before using them.

Regarding personal hygiene, 82.2% wore aprons as well as hair covers during cooking and serving of food. This finding contradicts a study conducted¹⁸ on factors affecting food handling among food handlers in the west division of Lira city, which showed that 58 (43.6%) of the respondents reported that they did not wear an apron while preparing food. Regarding clean surroundings, 70.7% of the respondents had clean surroundings, 28.3% had untidy surroundings, and 78.3% had good hygienic eating places. This finding contradicts a study conducted by Ref. 19 Determinants of Microbial Contamination of Street-Vended Chicken Products Sold in Nairobi County, Kenya concluded that six out of every ten (60%) of the studied vending places were not clean, and 33% had pests and flies in their surroundings.

Regarding respondents’ food preparation practices, 35.5% used firewood to prepare their food, 27.6% used charcoal for cooking, and 36.8% used gas stoves for cooking. This finding contradicts a study by Ref. 20 Health Risk Assessment of Informal Food Vendors: A Comparative Study in Johannesburg, South Africa, and concluded that the majority of the food vendors (89%) used gas stoves for cooking, while 11% used open fire (coal and firewood) for cooking.

Conclusions

The study concludes that:

Even though a majority of the food vendors put food in refrigerators as storage methods and use hygienic practices, many food vendors sell food using unhygienic practices and in unsafe environments. These may cause foodborne infections in consumers.

Furthermore, a substantial number of food vendors did not abide by the major rules of the Ghana Health Service to obtain a valid medical certificate before legally preparing and selling food to customers.

Declarations

Consent for publication

N/A

Authors’ contributions

Eric Besseah Yeboah¹, Eric Nseebe Acquah², William Adu-Amankwaa³, Peter Twum⁴, Eric Eshun⁵, Regina Ofosua Asantewaa⁶, Thomas Ziema⁷

EBY, ENA, and WAA conceived the idea and performed data collection. PT, ROA, EE, and TZ participated in the data analysis and drafting of the manuscript together with EBY. PT, WAA, and EBY critically reviewed the articles before submission.