Street Food Vendors in Southern Kaduna Nigeria: Focus on Hygiene and Sanitary Practices

1* Mangbon, T. A, MFR and 2Chintem W.D.G 1Department of Statistics, Federal School of Statistics, Manchok, Kaduna, Nigeria 2Deparment of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria Email: mangbonamos@gmail.com, icecmagbon@yahoo.com

 Abstract

Statistics have shown that more than 2.5 billion people eat vended street food worldwide daily. In Nigeria there is no policy regulating street vended food. The purpose of this study is to address the public health issues related to personal hygiene and sanitary practices such as typhoid, cholera, diarrhea, stomach pains, Lassa fever and Ebola posed by street vended food. A random sample of 200 street food vendors selling commonly consumed food were selected to represent 13% of the total street food vendors in the study area. Data collection was carried out using pre-tested structured questionnaires and observations made. The results obtained from this study indicated that street food vendors lack personal hygiene and sanitary practice. Only about 5.5% of the respondent had formal training on food preparation while 57.5% acquired the skill from their parents. The personal hygiene of the vendors revealed that 44% of the street food vendors use their bare hands while serving food. 60% chew/talk while serving food and about 82.5% business premises were in the place of preparation of vended food. More than one third of the vendors interviewed do not treat their water for drinking purpose while (46%) waste and leftover food are used as feed for domestic animal and 28.6% and 21.45% of the vendors used dust bin and bushes respectively as waste disposal site. This paper therefore recommended the monitoring of preparation and sales of street vended foods by relevant agencies to prevent infections from the vended foods. Orientation and training of food vendors on hygiene and sanitary practices is also recommended. Keywords: street foods, hygiene, sanitary practice