Compliance To Food Safety Standards And Microbial Quality Of Food Samples From Selected Hotels In Central And Western Regions, Ghana

Abstract

Food safety is a global issue that is critical to public health, and accurate knowledge of safe food practices by food handlers can save the lives of many consumers. The purpose of this study was to examine knowledge, attitude, practices and knowledge-practice gaps. Also, to assess level of compliance to food safety standards microbial quality of food samples from hotels in the Central and Western Regions of Ghana. A mixed method design for was employed. All the 21 available hotels were involved in the study with 205 food handlers, 10 managers/chefs and 18 regulators. Data was gathered using questionnaire, interview guide and observation checklist. Also, samples of food were collected from the various hotels to determine their microbial quality. Frequencies and percentages, means and Wilcoxon signed ranked test were employed to analyse the research questions. The food handlers' knowledge on food safety was moderate (58%; mean score 0.619 ± 0.169). Also, 82% of the food handlers portrayed positive attitude towards food safety, while only 42.8% demonstrated good food safety practices. There was a significant variance between knowledge-reported practice such that food handlers' food safety knowledge did not reflect in their daily practices. Many (50%) of the hotels did not comply with the Food and Drugs Authority code on provision of facilities due to poor monitoring and supervision and lack of funds to procure the equipment. Also, lack of resources and collaboration among the regulatory agencies affected their regular visits to the hotels for inspection. Therefore, there is need for collaboration among the three regulatory agencies to adopt measures to improve monitoring and supervision activities to enhance the food safety practices of food handlers to prevent food contamination and protect public health.