Assessment of the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Hygiene and safety of foods by Food Handlers in Restaurants and local food Vendors in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT:

Despite the prevalence of food-borne diseases in many low and middle income economies due to poor food hygiene practices, little seems to have been done to educate food handlers on proper food handling techniques to avoid such incidences. In an effort to gauge knowledge, attitudes and practices on hygiene and safety of foods, a cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out amongst 120 Food Handlers in Restaurants and food Vendors in Aba, Abia State. Data were collected using a structured questionnaires and observational check-list were also employed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of the vendors. The result revealed that hygiene practices significantly influenced contamination rates, with vendors practicing poor hygiene accounting for the highest number of contaminated samples (36), followed by moderate (24) and good hygiene practices (14). Relative risk analysis showed that samples from vendors with moderate hygiene had a 1.29 times higher contamination risk, while those from vendors with poor hygiene had a 1.54 times higher risk, compared to those with good hygiene. The absolute increase in contamination risk was 13.3% for moderate hygiene and 25.3% for poor hygiene relative to good hygiene. It is recommended to intensify educational efforts on food safety practices, particularly targeting the minority who may not adhere to ideal standards. This is crucial as insufficient knowledge can hinder the adoption of appropriate food safety practices.

Keywords: Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, Hygiene, Food Handlers, Aba