Appraising the Knowledge and the Practice of Food Safety Procedure and Hygiene among Food Vendors in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT


INTRODUCTION
Food safety has been testified as one of the ten threats to global health and the outbreaks of foodborne diseases are major public health problems that had caused 70 million illness, 325 hospitalizationsand 5,000 deaths yearly. (Iwu . 2017) 20% -40% of such illnesses are associated with the consumption food where street food stalls are the most frequently sources of outbreak of foodborne diseases. (Kibret, M., & Abera, B. 2012;Ifeadike . 2014) Several devastating outbreaks of food borne diseases have been reported in the Africanregions. In sub-Saharan African especially Nigeria, despite the efforts of governments. Through its National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and other government bodies to improve the safety of food supply, food safety still remains a major issue that the been exacerbated by the peoples' ignorance of food hygiene, government's uncoordinated approach to food safety control and the poor enforcement of food safety legislation and regulations. (Moghnia. 2021;Raimu. 2019). In addition, climate change resulting in temperature changes has been predicted to influence the risks associated with food production, storage and distribution and therefore has placed greater responsibility on food vendors to ensure the safety of food that they prepare for public consumption [9]. In 1998, the Regional Office, in collaboration with partners, established the Integrated Diseases surveillance and Response (IDSR) in the African Region. Food poisoning, food borne diseases and food safety have been declared a major public health concern by international health agencies and foods have in many studies been associated with microbiological contamination and low hygiene standards. Food vendors are of massive importance for public health since they alone have influence on the health of thousands of people every day. The International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) cover events of international importance involving contaminated food and outbreaks of food borne diseases. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), foods are ready to-eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors and hawkers especially on the streets and in other public places. However, a vendor is defined as a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having any permanent built-up structure from which to sell. These represent a significant part of urban food consumption for millions of low-and-middle-income consumers, in urban, semi-urban and rural areas on a daily basis. Foods may be the least expensive and most accessible means of obtaining a nutritionally balanced meal outside the home for many low income people, provided that the consumer is informed and able to choose the proper combination of foods (FOA, 2006;WHO. 2007). In developing countries, food preparation and selling provides a regular source of income for millions of men and women with limited education or skills, especially because the activity requires low initial investment. The problems of food safety in the industrialized world differ considerably from those faced by developing countries. Whereas traditional methods are used for marketing fresh produce in the latter countries, food processing and packaging are the norms in industrialized countries. In developing countries, a large proportion of ready-to-eat food is sold on the streets. A study conducted by reported that most of the foods vending activities are sparked by reasons such as unemployment and poverty in the society. Mostly, these vendors move from ruralto the urban areas in search for greater opportunities. Food vending is a rapidly growing sector and a source of employment in most developing countries like Nigeria (Isara A.C., & Isah, E.C., 2009). Attests to this statement by stating that the number of food vendors and their customers has increased as economic crises have become more frequent in developing countries. Food may be consumed where it is purchased or can be taken away and eaten elsewhere. The consumption of food is common in many countries where unemployment is high, salaries are low, work opportunities and social programs, are limited, and where urbanization is taking place. Food vendors are often unlicensed, untrained in food hygiene and sanitation, and work under crude unsanitary conditions (Adesokan . 2015). They benefit from a positive cash flow, often evade taxation, and can determine their own working hours. In selling snacks, complete meals, and refreshments at relatively low prices, they provide an essential service to workers, shoppers, travellers, and people on low incomes (Omojokun, J. 2013). People who depend on such food are often more interested in its convenience than in questions of its safety, quality and hygiene. The hygiene aspects of vending operations are a major source of concern for food control officers. According to WHO (2006), food handling personnel play an important role in ensuring food safety throughout the food production and storage chain. For example, Kiosks are often crude structures, and running water may not be readily available. Also, toilets and adequate washing facilities are rarely available. The washing of hands, utensils, and dishes is often done in buckets or bowls. Disinfection is not usually carried out, and insects and rodents may be attracted to sites where there is no organized sewage disposal.

Statement of the Problem
The emergency of food vendors has become very rampant, therefore there is an assumption that by their nature, food contamination is inevitable, yet, millions of people depend on this source of nutrition. Education of food industry personnel in hygiene matters has been recommended as a means of improving food handling practices and thus the safety of food. There is, however, a lack of documentary evidence of improvements in food hygiene standards which can be directly related to education or training. Ondo State, Akure South inclusive had witnessed outbreaks of cholera, diarrhea and lassa fever that had claimed lives of its citizens. This is attributed to unsanitary food practices by food handler in the State. It is thus imperative than an appraisal be conducted to assess what information food vendors have, in relation to food safety. Such an appraisal has potential to identify areas that require strengthening or attention in the training programmed with regard to ensuring the safety of foods, especially for vulnerable groups like schools. Additionally, legislative changes that may be necessary in the light of such an appraisal could be suggested.

Research Objectives
General objective of the study is to appraise the knowledge and the practice of food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. The research work is guided by the following research questions.
(1) What is the level of knowledge of food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State?
(2) What is the level of practice of food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State?
(3) Have the governments effectively delivered on their mandate on food safety procedure and hygiene in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State

Significance of the Study
The appraisal of the phenomena under investigation will bring more hindsight into the food safety procedure and hygienic practices among the food vendors thereby adding to the body of knowledge of the study under investigation. The study will create more awareness among the residents and food vendors. The study will assist the governments, health officials and food sellers associations to regulate the activities of food vendors in order to forestall outbreaks of food borne diseases.

LITERATURE REVIEW Food Safety Concerns in Nigeria
While a number of related problems keep food borne disease at high levels within the African Region, the root cause is poverty, which affects women and children (Ifeadike . 2014). Poverty exacerbates food safety problems in many ways and contributes to unsanitary conditions, lack of access to clean water, unhygienic transportation and storage of foods, low education levels among consumers and food handlers, leading to reduced information on food safety, national governments lacking finance to do surveillance, monitoring and implement food safety regulations among others (Kibret, M., & Abera, B. 2012; Raimu . 2019). Food is frequently cooked well in advance of consumption and is subject to contamination from exposure to dust and flies. In addition, food preparers and handlers may also be sick with tuberculosis, typhoid, and other illnesses that can contaminate food. Numerous programmes have been developed by FAO and WHO to improve the quality and safety of foods in African countries.

National Policy on Food Safety
The regulation, control, monitoring and evaluation of food safety in Nigeria was described in the in the NPFSIS 2014. (The national policy on food safety and its implementation strategy) in Nigeria, the national food safety system (NFSS) policy framework is to improve food safety and protect the health of Nigeria citizens (A USAID, 2015). NPFSIS 2014 aims to integrate and harmonies all the existing laws, standards and codes that redefine and coordinate existing food control infrastructures at various levels of government and reduce area of overlap and conflict. The implementation of this policy will minimize the risk of food borne and related diseases. However, many government bodies play a role in ensuring the safety of foods right from the farms to the tables. These three operating national policies with food safety components are: the agricultural promotion policy (2015-2020) of the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development (FMARD) the national food and nutrition policy (2016) of budget and national planning (MBNP) and the national policy on the environment (revised 2016) of the Federal Ministry of Environment (FME). There are many government ministries, departments and agencies that are in charge of food safety mandate in Nigeria including the local government area (LGA) which is the lowest tier of government and that is expected to reach most of the nation's population who are rural dwellers. Some of the MDAS are: • Federal ministry of Health (FMOH) • Federal ministry of Environment (FME) • Federal ministry of agriculture and rural development • Standard organization of Nigeria (SON) • National environmental standards and regulation environment (NESREA).
• Federal produce inspector service (FPIS) • National agency for food and drug control ( NAFDAC) In Ondo state, the department of public health collaborates with the ministry of environment to establish standards for food rending outlets and conduct routine monitoring and inspection of food vending sites for laboratory and physical assessment of compliance. The Akure South Local Government Areas nutrition unit under primary health care and environmental department is saddled with responsibilities of ensuring food safety and hygienic practices within the communities. They carry out inspection of food vendors sites, enforcement of regulations, management of food control, monitoring of food and epidemiological data, health education and training of food vendors and handlers in acceptable food preparations and handling practices.

Food-Borne Diseases
According to WHO factsheet, over 200 diseases are caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances such as heavy metals. The growing public health problem causes considerable socio-economic impact through strains on health-care system, lost of productivity and destruction of trade and tourism. The diseases contribute significantly to the global burden of diseases and mortality. Foodborne diseases are caused by contamination of food and occur at any stage of food production, delivery and consumption chain. They can resolve from several forms of environmental contamination including pollution in water, soil, air, as well as unsafe food storage and processing. Foodborne diseases encompass a wide range of illness from diarrhea to cancer. Most present a gastro intestinal issues though they can also produce neurological, gynaecological and immunological symptoms. Diseases causing diarrhoea are a major problem in all carried disproportionally by low and middle income countries and by children under 5 years of age.

Challenges Faced by Food Vendorsin Ondo State
The challenges faced by food vendors are numerous. The major one is government's policy which requires licenses for the occupied spaces: vendors must also pass food safetyinspections. The inconsistent implementation of this law leads not only to bribery and extortion for protection from the corrupt government officials, but also to frequent government campaigns to destroy carts and stalls to clean the streets. Government harassment is by far the most serious problem facing food vendors. According to a report from FAO the following are the categorized obstacles faced by the small scale business: Internal obstacles: inadequate basic food hygiene, lack of expertise and information, human resources constraints, inadequate infrastructure and facilities; and perceived and real finance constraints. External obstacles: insufficient government infrastructure and absence of legal requirement, lack of business awareness and positive attitude of industry and trade associations, political interference, inadequate information and technical support.

Stage 1
Stratified sampling techniques were used to stratify the eleven (11) wards in the local government into 9 urban wards and two rural wards.

Stage 2
Here, two (2) urban wards and 2 rural wards were selected through simple random sampling by balloting

Stage 3
Communities in the four (4) selected wards were listed out and two communitieswere selected randomly by balloting. Thus, 8 communities (4 rural and 4 urban communities) were selected. The selected communities are: Apomu, Isikan, Oke Ijebu, Alagbaka, Oda, Odopetu, Gaga and Isolo. Thereafter, food vendors in the selected communities were accessed using a structured questionnaire. The instrument (questionnaire has two sections: Section A: socio-demographic profile of the respondents Section B: question on the knowledge of the food vendor on food safety procedure and hygiene; question on the food safety procedure and hygiene among the food vendors; and question on the effectiveness of government in carrying out its mandate on food safety procedure and hygiene in the Akure south local government. The questionnaire consists of both open-ended and close-ended questions. The reliability of the study instrument was tested through a pre-test conducted in one of the selected communities (Isikan). In conducting the pre-test a total of 50 respondents were drawn from the selected community for this purpose.

Data Presentation and Analysis
The data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency table, percentage. Also, inferential statistics (chi-square) was later used for hypothesis testing to show association between variables under investigation.

Section A
The table below provides the socio-demographic profile of the respondents      10(3.8%) 10(3.8%) Using of gloves while handling food reduces the risk of food contamination 200(76.9) 50(19.18%) 10(3.8%) Proper cleaning of utensils reduces the risk of food contamination 180(69.2%) 72(27.6%) 8(3.0%) Insects such as cockroaches and files might transmit food borne pathogens 220(84.6%) 35(13%) 5(1.92%) Is washing of fruits and vegetables necessary before preparing or eating 250(96.2%) 10(3.8%) 0 Does wearing of dirty clothes spread pathogens 155(59.6%) 100(38.5%) 5(1.9%) 258(99.2%) agreed that they have heard about food hygiene before while only 2(0.70%) said they have not. Also, 258(92.2%) of the respondent agreed that lack of good food hygiene can cause diseases. 250(91.5%) claimed that washing of fruits and vegetables before preparing or eating is necessary. The above analysis shows that majority of the respondents have good knowledge of food safety procedure and hygiene.

Research Question 2
What is level of practice of food vendors on food safety procedure and hygiene?

Research Question 3
Have governments (at all levels) effectively delivered on theirmandate on food safety procedure and hygiene in Akure South Local Government Area? From the table 8 above, out of 260 respondents, majority of the respondents (157 (69.4%) agreed that government have not effectively delivered on their mandate as regards the inspection of food vendors on food safety procedure and hygiene 97 (37.3%) disagreed while 6 (2.3%) were undecided. On Enforcement of Regulations, 42 (16.2%) agreed that the government enforce the regulations on food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors, 207 (79.6%) disagreed, while 11 (4.2%) were undecided. On the Training and Information dissemination among food vendors , 87 (33.4%) agreed that governments are effective in training and information dissemination, 171 (65.8%) disagreed while 2(0.8%) were undecided. 5 On Food Monitoring and Epidemiological data, 30 (11.5%) agreed that governments are effective, 220 (84.6%) disagreed while none of the respondents was neutral. The above analysis shows that governments have not effectively delivered on their mandate on food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in Akure South Local Government Area.

Testing of Hypothesis
Ho1: here is no significant association between the knowledge of the respondents and the practice of food safety in the Akure South Local Government Area. From the above: there is significant association between Ho2: There is no significant association between the level of practice of food vendors and food safety procedure in Akure South Local Government Area.

Meaning of Hypothesis
This suggests that most of the food vendors have good knowledge offood safety and hygiene procedure. n=260 from the above: there is no significant association between the level of practice of food vendor and food safety procedure in Akure South Local Government Area's= 11.02, hence null hypothesis should not be rejected. This suggests the level of practice of food vendor does not support food safety procedure and hygiene.

FINDINGS
This study is to appraise the knowledge and the practice of food safety procedures and hygiene among food vendors in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. In analyzing the data collected, the study revealed that most respondents are within the age bracket of 36-40 years. The majority of the respondents are educated up to the secondary school level (see Table 4) this implies they have an understanding of the study under investigation. The study also revealed that majority of the food vendor have no formal training in kitchen services which is risky in ensuring food safety and the majority of the respondent are female ( See Table 2) because food vending is seen as a female occupation and they operated in a stationary food stall (See Table 5). The majority of the respondents opined that the government has not effectively delivered on its mandate on food safety procedures and hygiene in Akure South Local government (see Table 8)the research further showed that there is significant association between the level of knowledge of food vendor and safety procedure and hygiene. (r=12.39,p<.000) (See Table 8) on the contrary,the study showed that there is no significant association between the level of practice of food vendors and food safety procedures and hygiene. (r=11.02, p<2.2). (See Table 9).

CONCLUSION
From the findings of the study, it can be concluded that food vendors in Akure South Local Government Area have good knowledge of food safety procedure but poor level of practice of food safety position and hyigene. Also, it can be further concluded that government at all levels have not effectively delivered on their mandate to ensure compliance, monitoring, inspection, enforcement of regulations and food control management as regards food safety procedure and hygiene in Akure South Local Government. This research work is similar to the previous research of Raimi (2010) on Assessment of Environmental Sanitation, food safety knowledge and handling practice among Food handlers of Bukateria complexes in Iju Town, Akure North of Ondo State, which concluded that the food vendors have good knowledge of food safety but poor practice of food safety procedure and hygiene but contradicted the study of Isara (2009) on knowledge and practice of food hygiene and safety in fast food restaurants in Benin City, Edo State which concluded that there is good knowledge and practice of food safety procedure and hygiene among food handlers in Benin City, Edo State. Juxtaposing the results of these previous findings with the present study in respect to their locations, the following measures are hereby recommended. Hence, to improve the safety and hygienic handling of food in the Local government, the following recommendations are hereby proffered.

RECOMMENDATIONS
• Government should create more awareness about the implications of selling of unsafe food tothe public by collaborating with media houses and food sellers associations.
• The various MDAs should be more coordinated in their approaches of ensuring food safety.
• There should be enactment of legislation to back the government policies on food safety among vendors • Government should improve street food stalls operating conditions and facilities such as cleanprotected structures, portable water, and efficient waste collection and disposal systems.
• Continuous trainings should be given to food vendors in both urban and rural areas toimprove their understanding on the rationale for safe and hygienic practices • Corrupt government officials that aid non-compliance with regulations of food safety should be punished.