Abstract:
The study set out to examine food vending hygiene practices among food vendors
in the Bolgatanga municipality. The specific objectives were to examine the
factors that influence the choice of location for food vending, examine the
sanitary conditions of the physical environment of food vending, analyse the
safety of food handling practices of food vendors, examine the institutional set-up
governing safe practices of food vendors, and analyse the microbial content of
food served by food vendors. The study used a mixed research approach, and also
adopted a cross-sectional design. A total of 150 food vendors were purposively
sampled from 10 communities in addition to trend of the environmental health
related institutions and the health inspectors. Food samples from the vendors were
sampled and subjected to microbial load analysis. The major findings of the study
were that the most significant factor influencing the choice of location of food
vendors is proximity to customers; the physical state of the food vending places
was satisfactorily healthy; the safety of food vendors’ food handling practices was
compromised; the institutional set-up was not effectively promoting conformance
to the food vending controls; and most of the foods were contaminated above
acceptable levels for consumption. The study recommended food vendors to
practice proper personal hygiene and to avoid making direct skin contact with
food. The Municipal Assembly and the Food and Drugs Authority were advised
to advocate for no political neutrality in their duties and to advocate for provision
of logistics to facilitate inspection.
