Food Handling Knowledge and Safety and Hygiene Practices of Food Vendors in Tertiary Institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

To evaluate the food handling knowledge and food hygiene practice of food vendors and its implications for academic achievement of students in tertiary institutions in Lagos state, Nigeria. A descriptive cross sectional survey was carried out among 120 food vendors and 190 students who were selected by means of a purposive sampling. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to assess the food handling knowledge of the vendors and an observation checklist was used to capture their safety and hygiene practices. Frequency counts and chi-square were used to analyze data. The food vendors in the institutions were mostly (70.8%) females. More than 60% of them were between 30-40 years old. The food handling knowledge of majority (66.6%) of the vendors was very good, while most (40%) of them had poor hygiene and food safety practices indicating that the food handling knowledge of food vendors did not translate into good food hygiene and safety practices. Data from the institutions’ health centers also revealed that an average of 42 incidents of food borne diseases are reported on a monthly basis. Incidents of food-borne diseases were mostly among students who patronize food vendors and poor safety and hygiene practices of food vendors have a negative influence on the academic achievements of students. Supervisory bodies should be set up by the management of the institutions to monitor the food and safety practices of the food vendors.