HYGIENIC PRACTICES OF FOOD VENDORS; EFFECT ON CONSUMER FOOD SAFETY ON THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA CAMPUS

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ABSTRACT

The selling of street foods is regarded as a great aspect of the economies of  many  developing countries due to its socio-economic benefits. In Ghana, the sector provides numerous job opportunities for people in the country. Despite its importance, many have complained about the hygiene, quality and the safety of street foods as these foods have been associated with food poisoning and other food-borne diseases. This is due to the fact that food vendors are ignorant of basic food safety needs; therefore, exposing these foods to all kinds of dangerous abuses often at all the stages of food handling. The purpose of the study was to examine the hygienic practices of food vendors and its effects on consumer food safety on the University of Ghana campus. The mixed method approach was adopted with the sequential transformative design as the research design. Thirty-one food vendors, 2 Grounds and Environmental Health Services Officers and 300 student consumers at the University of Ghana main campus were sampled for the study using purposive sampling and purposive random sampling technique respectively. To collect the qualitative data, food vendors and Grounds and Environmental Health Services Officers were observed and interviewed respectively using naturalistic observation and structured face-face interview. A semi- structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from student consumers. Qualitative data were analysed in themes and quantitative data were analysed with SPSS version 20 and results presented in frequency distributions and charts. The findings of the study indicate that food vendors at the University of Ghana campus do not engage in safe food practices even though they are knowledgeable about safe food practices. The study  again found out that due to their (food vendors) lack of adherence to safe food practices on the University of Ghana campus; most of the students usually suffer from food poisoning. Finally, the study again established that even though training needs are organized for food vendors on the University of Ghana campus, these training needs are not enough and

adequate to equip them with all the necessary skills and knowledge they need in ensuring food safety practices.

These findings should inform policy, practice and research as far as food safety practices are concerned.

CHAPTER ONE

                                        INTRODUCTION

            Introduction

This chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the research problem, research objectives and research questions. The chapter further discusses the significance, the scope, as well as the chapter organization of the study.

       Background of the Study

Street foods are ready- to- eat foods and beverages prepared and sold by vendors or hawkers in streets and other public places (FAO, 2013). Street foods contribute significantly to the diet of many people in the developing world (FAO 2010; Sunitha, Manjula, & Depur, 2011). Food sold in the streets by food vendors serves a significant position in low and middle income countries in providing food for those living in the cities. Street foods provide millions of people daily with a wide variety of foods that are relatively cheap and easily accessible (Muinde and Kuria, 2005; Mensah et al., 2002). In most developing countries, the food sector tends to attract people with low level skills, training and educational qualification who could otherwise not get formal sector employment. Low set-up financial requirement and ease of entry into the sector enable most urban and peri-urban poor to enter into the sector as a coping strategy (FAO, 2009). According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 1996:2), the sector offers an opportunity for self-employment and the chance to develop business  skills with low capital investment.

In Ghana, the street food industry is a million-dollar sector. In 2002, the sector was estimated to employ about 60,000 street food vendors in urban Accra with an annual turnover of US

$100million (Tomlins, 2002). The operation of fast food joints, restaurants and chop bars has increased in the Ghanaian community, especially in the urban areas (Ayeh-Kumi et al, 2009). Nonetheless, food safety is a serious concern with street foods, as these foods are most of the times cooked and sold under unsanitary conditions, with limited access to safe water, sanitary services, or waste disposal facilities (Rheinländer et al., 2008). In developing countries, factors such as poverty, lack of adequate health care facilities, lack of adequate food inspectors and other public health workers have led to the issue of foodborne diseases and illness becoming one of the leading causes of morbidity and death among the population (Abelson, Forbes & Hall, 2006). According to FAO (2002) figures, over 1.8 million people from developing and under-developed countries die from foodborne diseases annually.

A related study indicated that, only three (1.85%) out of 160 streets food stands owners in Ghana met the requirements for basal hygiene based on a five-point check-list (King et al 2008). The rapid proliferation of cholera epidemic and other hygiene-related diseases coupled with the lives it claims annually has led the call for strict hygienic conditions be maintained at all times especially at places where food vending takes place. It is no secret that the outbreak of foodborne diseases and illness has been increasing at an unprecedented rate in both the developed and developing nations across the globe (Gessner&Beller, 2014). Nonetheless, in developed countries, the existence of strict regulations on food handling and management as well as the effective role of food inspectors and other public health workers have resulted in containing the issues of the negative impact of food contamination in the population. In developing countries like Ghana, the converse is true (FAO, 2013).

In Ghana, the story is no more different from other developing nations across the globe. Per the estimates of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the World Bank (2006), 1 in every 40 Ghanaian suffers foodborne disease or ailments annually which translates into 420,000 reported cases annually with the death rate of 65,000 which cost the government $69 million

annually (World Bank, 2007). It has even been suggested that the figures could be far higher than these as individuals who patronize health facilities with foodborne illness is very low due to poverty and lack of access to medical facilities in some communities across the country and as such, will rely on traditional herbal medications. In view of this, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) estimated the loss of productivity in 2006 as a result of foodborne diseases and illness to be approximately 594, 279 (19, 809) months and this loss of productivity is a huge cost to the state and the government aside the money expended in fighting foodborne diseases and illness. This, therefore, makes the issue of food preparation and vending across the streets in the country an issue of monumental national importance.

       Statement of the Problem

Over the years and in recent times the street food sub sector has gained a lot of attention from public health practitioners, local and international organizations as well as social science researchers (Zeru et al., 2007). Even though the food chain industry is considered an important part of the economies of many developing countries by providing employment and readily accessible cooked meal at relatively cheaper prices, there have been major concerns over the quality and safety of street foods (Wuliyeng, 2013). Street food is often regarded unhygienic and of low quality, sometimes due to the poor environmental conditions under which food is prepared or sold, and also due to inadequate knowledge in food safety regarding food preparation and handling by food vendors (Rheinlander, 2006; FAO, 2009; Annan-Prah et al., 2011). According to Zeru et al. (2007) and Mukhopadhyay et al. (2012), in low and middle income countries, approximately 70% of cases of diarrheal disease are linked to the eating of unwholesome food. This is because most handlers of street foods in Africa and the developing world at large, to a great extent are lacking in knowledge, education or training on basic food safety issues. As a result, street foods are often susceptible to unsafe

abuses, in many cases at all stages of handling products (from the raw material to the finished stage) are often laid open to sources of contamination (Annor et al, 2011). Various factors have been said to be associated with unhygienic practice among street food vendors which include inefficient or lack of effective education, training of food vendors on health and hygiene, non-provision of needed infrastructure as well as non-regulation and enforcement of by-laws governing street food vending by local authorities ( ISSER, 2002; Wuliyeng, 2013) ). According to FAO (2009), unhygienic street food is linked to an outbreak of serious food poisoning in most parts of the world. In a research conducted on the microbiological quality of street food in Accra, Mensah et al (2002) found that some of the main dishes were contaminated with bacteria of various kinds. The researchers attributed the contamination to improper handling of cooked food by vendors, poor storage of cooked food, serving of food with bare hands, and inadequate reheating of food cooked in advance of consumption. An investigation was carried out by the Food and Drugs Authority ( FDA) and the Ghana Health Service to trace the source of a cholera outbreak involving 49 cases in the Akwapim South Municipality in 2012. The team revealed that the cholera outbreak was a result of eating a contaminated street food called “waakye” (rice and beans) from Nsawam (Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service Report, 2012) as cited in Wuliyeng (2013, p3). Major risk factors identified by the team of investigators were unhygienic food handling practices and unavailability of adequate toilet facilities around where food was sold (Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service Report, 2012). In Kumasi, a similar study by Rheinlander (2006) raised concerns about the poor infrastructure with which street food vendors work and how that influenced the quality and safety levels of most street foods in Ghana. Another study conducted in the Niger Delta University in Nigeria showed how traditional methods of processing and packaging food are evident in improper holding and temperature by food handlers (Oghenekohwo, 2015).