Abstract:
This study set out to assess food vending hygiene practices among food vendors in the
casual restaurants and the organized restaurants in Prampram Township. The objectives
of the study were to assess food hygiene practices among food vendors in handling,
preparing and serving food, analyse the level of knowledge and training of food vendors
on hygiene practices and examine the knowledge of food vendors on activities of
institutional set ups that governs the hygiene practices among food vendors.
A total of 40 respondents were interviewed from selected organized restaurants and
casual restaurant with 20 respondents from each set up for the study. The findings
showed that the respondents interviewed at both had 52.5% of them within the youthful
age. Both restaurants had 37.5% of the respondents attaining secondary education and
15% attaining tertiary education. 55% of the respondents were engaged in food vending
to earn a living and not necessarily because they learnt the profession.40% of the
respondents look out for rotten parts on food stuffs, 5% look out for tender parts and 15%
look at the appearance of the food stuffs before buying them for food preparation. 75% of
the food vendors buy their meat products from meat shops, 15% buy from buy from
abattoir and 10% buy from the open market. Majority (75%) of the respondents are
connected to the national for their water supply and 25% buy water from water tankers
for food preparation and serving. 20% of the respondents in the casual restaurants do not
have hand washing facilities at the premises whiles at the organized restaurant 42.5% of
them have between one to four hand washing facilities in the premises. 85% of the
respondents have never had any training on food hygiene practices and a majority of 95%
have an idea of the food vendors’ certification and have undergone the medical screening as at the time of interview. Also the respondents at the organized restaurant (10%) said
they do have officers from both the Food and Drugs Authority visiting and 12.5% said
Environmental Health Department of the Ningo-Prampram District Assembly visit their
premises to inspect the place but at the casual restaurants it is only the Environmental
Health Officers who visit their premises for inspection. The study recommended that
institutional set ups (Food and Drugs Authority and Environmental Health Officers of the
District) in charge of ensuring safety at food premises should live up to their
responsibilities and also conduct training for all food vendors if possible or at a cost that
can be patronized by all to ensure and promote food safety and good hygiene practices at all food premises.
