Knowledge and Practice of Food Safety among Local Restaurant Operators in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State

Abstract:

Foodborne illness is a public health precedence causing morbility and mortality in general population. Many people die of food poisoning every year in Nigeria from foodborne pathogens from contaminated food and water. Hence this study assessed the knowledge and practice of food safety among local restaurant operators in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State. A cross-sectional design was used for the study; ninety-three (93) local restaurant operators participated in the study. Data was collected using a three sectioned standardized questionnaire, which was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The data was analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, ANOVA and Chi-square. The result showed a good knowledge of food safety with a percentage of 82.53%. There was also a reasonable extent of food safety practice among respondents, where the grand mean was 3.42 which were significantly higher than the criterion means of 2.50. The result also shows insignificant relationship between food safety knowledge and practice and socio-demographic characteristics such as age, level of education, marital status, religion and years of experience (p>0.05), hence the null hypothesis was retained. However, there was a significant relationship between gender and food safety practice. Although this study reported good food safety knowledge and a reasonable extent of food safety practice, there is need for institutions like CAO and CPC to create more awareness on food and its implication to the healthcare and economic system when adequate measure is not taken.