PROMOTING FOOD SAFETY HYGIENE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND COMPLIANCE AMONG STREET FOOD VENDORS IN OBIO/AKPOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study investigated food safety hygiene through knowledge, attitude and compliance among street food vendors in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. Descriptive research design was used for the study. Six objectives and research questions guided the study. The population of the study comprised all street food vendors in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 450 respondents for the study. A self-designed questionnaire titled “Knowledge, Attitude and Compliance with Basic Food Safety Questionnaire’’ (KACBFSQ) was used for data collection. The instrument had a reliability coefficient of (r=0.74). Frequency count and simple percentage were used to answer research question 1 while mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The study revealed that there was high level of knowledge, positive attitude and high compliance to food safety hygiene among street food vendors in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State irrespective of years of experience ( ), educational qualification ( ) and gender ( ). It was recommended among others that; government authorities should continuously monitor and inspect street food vendors’ kitchens and the vending environment, especially in areas of personal hygiene, food storage, and entire sanitary conditions.