Abstract
BackgroundFood borne diseases claim more lives and are growing public health concerns. Simple preventive techniques such as adoption and adherence to hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) policy can significantly reduce this disease burden. Though food screening and inspection are done, the ultimate regulation, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, which is known and accepted worldwide, appears not to be popular among food operators in Ghana. This paper examines the level of awareness of the existence of policy on hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) and its adherence to food preparation guidelines among food service providers in Ghana.ResultsThe results revealed the mean age of food providers as 33.1 years with a standard deviation of 7.5, range of 18–55 years, more females, in full time employment and with basic education. Of the fifty institutional managers, 42 (84%) were senior officers and had worked for more than five years. Education and type of food operator had strong statistically significant relationship with the implementation of HCCP policy and adherence with food preparation guidelines. The enforcement of HACCP policy and adherence with food safety guidelines was led by the Ghana Tourist Board, Public Health officers, and KMA, respectively. While a majority of food operators 373/450 (83.3%) did not know HACCP policy is part of food safety guidelines, staff of food safety law enforcement 44/50 (88%) confirmed knowing that food operators were not aware of the HACCP policy.ConclusionThe study documents evidence on the practice of food safety principles or HACCP policy or adherence to food preparation guidelines. Existing food safety guidelines incorporate varying principles of HACCP, however, awareness is low among food operators. The implication is that food production is likely to fall short of acceptable standards and not be wholesome putting consumers at health risk. Repeating this study in rural and urban areas in Ghana is necessary to provide much more evidence to inform food safety guidelines. Further studies on chemical analysis of food and implementing training modules on HACCP policy for food producers and law enforcement agencies may be helpful to improve existing situation.
Highlights
Food borne diseases claim more lives and are growing public health concerns
The study found that most food service providers were females, had basic formal education and were not aware of hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) as part of food safety guidelines
Staff of food regulatory agencies had mixed feelings but were more inclined to the notion that HACCP principles are not mandatory and do not form the basis of food safety guideline as there is no guideline to ensure that the principles of HACCP are adhered to in Ghana
Summary
Food borne diseases claim more lives and are growing public health concerns. Simple preventive techniques such as adoption and adherence to hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) policy can significantly reduce this disease burden. Food borne diseases claim more lives and is reported very often in health facilities. In the United States of America (U.S.A), around 76 million cases of food borne diseases, resulting in 32,500 hospitalizations and 50,000 deaths are estimated to occur each year [6,7]. A majority of respondents were 28 years of age (10.2%) and most food service providers were females and in full time business. The low level of education of respondents could be a contributing factor to the non-adherence to HACCP, corroborating Italio “and others” [28] and Yapp and Fairman [4], who identified similar situation in research conducted on HACCP and food hygiene in hospitals and small and medium-sized enterprises respectively
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