Street-vended food hygiene: risk factors and regulations' enforcement in selected districts of central region. Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to research into the street-vended foods safety risk factors and regulations' enforcement practices in the two selected districts of the Central Region of Ghana namely, Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem Municipal district and Ajumako Enyan Essiam district. This study was posited within the theories of disease causation, utilitarianism and why people obey the law. The study applied a mixed­methods research design. The analysis was done by situating the results of this study within the Codex Alimentarius International standards and relevant laws in Ghana. It was found that an overwhelming proportion of street food vendors (97.3%) were mainly illiterate females. On risk factors, almost one-fifth of food vendors did their business under insanitary environmental conditions, while nearly three-quarters of street foods were displayed in an unhygienic manner in either open air or at ground level. About one-half of vendors were observed to handle food with bare hands. Nearly one-fifth of vendors admitted they did not wash their hands with water and soap after using the toilet facility. Enforcement of food regulations in the study area was quite weak resulting in over one-third of food vendors operating without permit and therefore plying their business illegally. The regulation enforcement in the AEE District was found to be better than in the KEEA Municipality, which probably contributes to explaining the differentials in the trend of food borne diease incidence in the two districts. Ironically, consumers placed more premium on the socio-economic attributes of street food rather than on food safety considerations. It is recommended that local authorities strategise to implement a 24-hour food regulations' regime in collaboration with other food safety stakeholders. Local authorities must provide adequate human, budgetary and logistical resource support to ameliorate the challenges that impede successful regulations· enforcement and compliance in the study area.