Food hygiene knowledge and practices of street food vendors in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract The study was aimed to assess the food hygiene knowledge and practices of street food vendors in Benin City, Nigeria. A descriptive cross‐sectional study, using structured interviewer‐administered questionnaires, was carried out amongst 456 participants, selected by a cluster sampling technique. Data were collected on socio‐demographic variables, knowledge of food hygiene and safety, health and personal hygiene, foodborne illnesses as well as the food hygiene and safety practices of the study subjects. A χ2 test was conducted to test the association between variables. Statistical significance was set at p < .05. Of the 456 respondents, 131 (28.7%) were aware of the term ‘foodborne disease’. Potential food contaminants reported by respondents included worms and parasites (20.2%), piece of wood (19.1%) and germs (16.9%). Only 30 (6.6%) respondents were aware that spices and colourings were potential contaminants of food. A majority (99.6%) of the respondents washed their hands after using the toilet. The basket was most commonly used for storage of utensils by the 186 respondents (40.8%). This was followed by the cupboard 142 (31.1%), floor 103 (22.6) and wheelbarrow 51 (11.2%). Twenty‐nine respondents (24.4%) who had received food safety training demonstrated a good knowledge of food hygiene and safety compared with those who did not have food safety training 16 (4.7%). There was a statistically significant association between food safety training and respondents' knowledge of food hygiene and safety (p = .001). Training in food hygiene and safety equips vendors with the right knowledge of food hygiene and safety. This enhances good food handling practices and ensures quality products for consumer consumption. Three hundred and fifty‐nine of them (78.7%) did not take a periodic medical examination. 8.8% of the respondents took periodic medical examination biannually, 7.5% and 5.0% of them took periodic medical examination annually and biennially, respectively. This study showed that street food vendors in Benin City have poor knowledge of food hygiene and safety, their practice of food hygiene and safety fell short of standard requirements.