Food safety practices in food service establishments: a case study of the Greater Accra Region
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Date
APRIL, 2016
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Abstract
There is an upsurge in the number of Food Service Establishments (FSEs) in most cities in
Ghana. FSEs generally provide ready to eat (RTE) foods for all categories of people. Food
safety practices of these FSEscanhave far reaching implications for the health and wellbeing
of most people since the FSEscan serve as media for transferring diseases. The perennial
incidence of deaths due to Cholera in Ghana gives cause for concern. Yet there is limited
systematicstudy conducted to test the effect of activities of food providers on food
contamination and their level of knowledge on food safety issues in Ghana.
This study assessedthe food safety practices ofninety-seven (97) FSEs, conveniently selected
from eleven communities withinthe Greater Accra Region. The Food and Drugs Authority
Code of Hygienic Practice for FSEswas used as a benchmark to guide development of the
data collection instruments for the study. The data was obtained through a face-to-face
interview, using a structured but partially open-ended questionnaire. The findings of the study
revealed that more females than males worked in food service establishments. Awareness of
food safety was generally high amongst food handlers in the study area. However more than
half (60 %) of those who were awarehad not been trained on food hygiene. Additionally,
nearly three quarters (71%) of food handlers indicated they had undergone the mandatory
food handler‟s test.
The study thus concluded that there were inadequate food safety practices exhibited by food
handlers within the study area.The study recommends the increase and sustained provision of
tailored madesensitization and training programmes on food safety forFSE operatives by key
stakeholders responsible for ensuring food safety in the Country
Description
A thesis submitted to The Department of Food Science and Technology, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science Degree in Food Quality Management.