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Food hygiene practices of food vendors in secondary schools in Ilorin

Article  in  The Nigerian postgraduate medical journal · October 2003

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 Food Hygiene Practices of Food Vendors in
Secondary Schools in llorin

0. I. MUSA, T. M. AKANDE
Department of Epidemiology & Community Health,
University of Ilorin, Ilorin.

Correspondence to:
Dr. 0.I. Musa
Department of Epidemiology & Community Health,
University of llorin Teaching Hospital,
P.M.B. 1459, Ilorin, Kwara-State.

This descr~j~tive study was car~.iedoirt to deterniir~e,li,odsafety pr.octices arrrorij:

food Veridor:~in secondary sclrools in Ilorin. /'re-tested quesliorrnnirc! ~rtrl
observational checklist were adrriirri,vtcred to 18.5 rc'sl)onden(.r r-ccrvi(ed lrsirrg
inlcusion arid exclusion criteria. One Aurldred and eighty-two (98.4%) of' the
subjects werefemales and orlly 6(3%) were tecviagers. One hundrcdarid two (56.8%)
had rio fornial educatiori while 72(39?4 had received trairring on food lrygiene.
Pre-eniployment medical examination praclice ,v(w Irigh 141(76%) /bt~tpcriotlic
ntcdical examirtation was low 30(/6%). Sixty-one (33%) (IIIO,ver~c11(y-hvo(.?9%)
respon(ien1sprcl)aredfood ~vellin advance arrd 7ehcatji)od l)c/brrsale r.e.sl)ccti~pcl)!
Vendors wlio pr~e~)arrtl footl well irt advarice (over 4 horrr:~)i~~cr.c:~/irrrrd
lo p~.octi.rc
food re-hentirig r~~ora tlran those wlio prepm.ed food ~vi/lrin4 lrolrrs bc/ur.e .volt.
and this is statistically signficant. The rriajor unlrygicriicyraclicer ol~ervcdnrrrorig
thefood vendors were poor care of used utensils 100(54%), rrse ofprsviously rrseti
water for washing arrd cleaning, lock of cover.iirg ol)r.ori arrron~(he volt/or:v
128(69%) and lack of wash Itorid basin for. ininredicr/e clcnning (i1(33%)). 00,rIr?
85(46%) of the resporidents used soap and lvater to clea~r111cir~tterlsils\clhilc tlie
rest /00(54%) used unhygienic metl~odsto clear^ their rrterrsils. /( \vas obscr.iw/
tliat resporlderits who used soap and waterfor clearlirtg, 1,cridedfood nt 1ocalion.r
tliat were relatively closer to water soitrce, cornl)olrd to o~lror\-crlclors \rrlto lr.ret/
otkernierhods to clear1 tlreir. uterisils. 77ii.r is n1.w s/c~ti.r~icrrll~~.sigr~~/icortt.
Urlk(-rrrl)/
Jingernails, skirt lesiorrs artdpoor foorlprotcc~ior~~fi~o~~~ flio,~
uner.c!~rrr)rc
c!/tlrc./iro(l
contamiriating risk factors oDscr.ved irr the slltd)!. 7ke rrccd c.~is~.~Jor./ooti vorc1or;r
and otlter food hand1er.r lo be trnirred on bn.ric pr.incil)lc.~r!f.rqfe,food 11n11dlirig.

Key words: food snfety; pracfices; food i*erldors

Food poisoning and other food borne tlisenscs
could occur in institutions such as school, Iiostcls,
hospitals and prisons, where food and drinks arc served
or sold to groups by food vendors or other food handlers.
Several factors are known to favour food borne disease
or food poisoning during food handling proccsscs. Thcsc
factors include poor personal and environmental hygiene,
poor storage of food/drinks, improper preparation and
cooking, and Carrier state with unclean Based
on these risk factors, the World Health Organisation
(WHO) developed preventive steps to enhance food safety.
These steps are known as the "Golden rules for safe food
preparationw2.The rules include thorough cooking of
food; thorough re-heating of stored food; avoiding contact
bctwccn raw foods ;lntl cooked food; ant1 protection of
food from insccls, rodents and otlicr animals.
Dcspitc this "Golden rules," food bornc diseascs
contiriue to be a scrious public health proble~nin
dcveloping countries, and oftc~laffectcd are scllool
children. Also, thc nurnber of wolncn in the work f'orcc
is on the increase and school children are away from
Iiome, resulting in more meals being eaten outside tlic
home. The implication here is that school children wlio
are the few that survived the high infant and childhood
mortality4-' and who are known high risk group for
intestinal parasitic infections6 are further exposed to
hazards of purchasing food from vendors who may
harbour dangerous pathogens or Ilavc tllc potentials of

192 Tlie Nigerian Postgradunte Medical Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3, Septcmbcr, 2003
Fontl snfcfy nnd food vendor: 0.1. Musn nnd T. M. Aknnclc
spreading infection to a large number of stutlcnrs. 'This
study was carried out to determine the food safety practices
of the food vendors in secondary scliools in Ilorin.
Findings from this study will provide useful information
for policy formulation and strategic interventions.
Subjects and Methods
Prior to the commencement of the study, advocacy
visit was made to the state Chairman of "All Nigeria
Conference of Principals of Secodary Schools"
(ANCOPSS) to solicit support and cooperation of the
principals of the schools within the study area. The list
of secondary schools within the study area was gotten
from the state Ministry of Education. The cross-sectional
study ws carried out in llorin using all the 58 secondary
schools within the study area. Inclusion and exclusion
criteria were used to select subjects into the study.
Food vendors recruited into the study were those
who prcparcd food at home and transported it to thc
scliools for sale, and must be registered wih the school
authorities. Vendors operating outside the scliool premises
wcre excluded because, in most cases, tlicy were not
registered with the school authorities and tend to have
high turnover, hence drop out rate may be high atnong
them. Also excluded were vendors selling pre-packaged
snacks because such items have relatively low risk disease
causing potentials compared to other types of food. Pre-
tested structured questionnaire and observational
checklist were the main ,research instn~mentsused for
the study. The questionnaire contained questions that
elicited information about the socio-demographic
characteristics, food handling and medical examination
practices of the vendors, while the checklist was designed
to seek information about the vendors' personal hygiene
and behaviour during food vending exercise in the
schools.
In all, one liundred and eighty-five (185) food
vendors were interviewed in their respective schools by
trained interviewers. The questionnaires were
administeredjust before sale of food colnmenccd (between
9-10 am), thereafter, the interviewers observed the food
vending activity and then completed a checklist on each
respondent during tile food sale. The temperature of the
food was determined subjectively, by touching plates
containing food served for consumption.
All completed questionnaires an checklists were
validated manually and data analysis carried out on a
microcomputer using EPI-INFO version 6 software
pnckagc. Chi-squarc test was uscd for statistical anlysis
and levcl of significance set at p value <0.05.
Kesults
Responses from one hundred and eighty-five (1 85)
food vendors were analyzed. One hundred and eighty-
two (98.4%) of the respondents were females while
3(1.6%) were males. Most of the (subjects 167(90.3%)
were in the age range of 20-49 years while 6(3.2%) were
The Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3,
teenagers (age< 20 ycars) 'rablc i. Majority of them
105(56.8%) had no formal education, but 48(25.9%) had
primary education while 29(15.7%) anci 3(1.6%) had
secondary and tcrliary education respcctivcly. However,
72(39%) respondents have attended food llygicnc training
workshop organized by the State or Local Government
authorities in the past. Quite a large proportion of the
respondents 130(70%) had other vocational jobs that
augment their carnings from food vcnding in schools.
This includetl pctty trading 109(59%), tailoring 37(20%)
and street food vending outside the school premises
39(21%). Most of the respondents 127(68.6%) had been
in the food vending trade for ovcr 4 ycars, 45(24.4%)
had 2-4 years expcricncc, while 13(7%) wcre rclativcly
new in the business, having spent lcss than 2 ycars. Also,
few respondents 15(8.1%) had sold food in 3 or more
schools in the past, but majority 170(91.9%) had vcndcd
food in 1 or 2 schools before.
Table i: Age distribution of tllc respondents
Age group (Years) Frequency Perce~ltagc(%)
- - - -
<20 years G 0.2
20-29 46 24.9
30-39 71 38.4
4049 50 27.0
50andabove 12 6.5
'Total 185 100%
One hundred and forty-one (76.2%) rcspondents
had medical examination done before commencing food-
vending activities in their respective schools, whilc
44(23.8%) did not. Out of the 141 subjects who Ilad
medical examinatin done, only 30(2 1.3%) had ever gone
for a pcriodic ~ncdicnlcxa~riination.All tllc rcspondcrits
admitted to have takcn i l l in the rcccnt timc (in last 1
year), but only 42(22.7%) of them ever, reportcd to the
appropriate school autlioritics or prescntcd at thc school
clinics.
Cooking of food well in advance (over 4 hours)
was reported by 61(33%) respondents, while the
rcmaining 124(67%) subjects prepared food within 4
hours before commcncenient of sale. Also, rc-heating of
cookcd food before sale was rcportcd in 72(38.9%)
respondents. An analysis of food re-llcating before sale
in the relation to period of advance cooking showed that
vcndors who prcpnrcd food wcll in advnncc (ovcr 4 Ilours)
were invlovccl in food rc-heating morc than those who
prepared food within 4 hours to the timc of sale. This
observation is statistically significant (Table ii). Looking
at the condition of the food during sale in term of hotness
or coldness, and relating tllis to period ofcooking rcvcalcd
that vcndors who prepared food within 4 hours tend to
sell warm or hot food as opposed to tliose who prcparcd
food well ovcr 4 hours befoorc salc whose rood tends to bc
Foocl snfcty nnd food vendor: 0. I. Musn nncl T. M. Aknnclc

cold. This observation is also statistically significant Tnhlc v: Care of utcl~silsin 1-cIa1io11to accessibility to
(Table iii). However, food re-heating just before sale did water within tile scliool
not play a significant role in the temperature of the food
being served during sale (Table iv). Period of advance Food rc-heating Total
cooking Ycs No
Tnble ii: Period of advance cooki~tgin rclaliorr l o food Use of tissuc papcr 15 24 39
re-heating Dunlop foam 5 14 19
Soap & Watcr 47 38 85
Period of advance Food re-heating 'l'otal Water only 18 24 42
cooking Yes No
Total 85 100 185
C 4 hours
- 28 96 124
> 4 hours 44 17 61 p value 0.07254 (level of significance sct at p valr~c
< 0.05)
Total 72 113 185
p value 0.000001 (level of significance set at p value
< 0.05) Other conditions obscrvcd in thc responde~lts
showed that majority were neatly drcssed 173(93.5%),
Table iii: Period of advance cooking in relation to used head covering 152(82.2%) and had clean wash hand
basin at the start of food sale 124(67.0%). I~Iowevcr,fcw
warmness of food sold
respondelits uscd covering apron 57(30.8%) and Iiad
Period of advance warmness of food sold Total obvious undressed skin lesions 35(18.9%) (Table vi).
cooking Cold IloUWarr~i
Table vi: Othcr food llygiene practices obscrvcd on
-< 4 llours 20 104 124
the vendors (11=185)
> 4 liours 15 46 61
Total 35 150 185 Conditioi~sobscrvcd Frequency (%)
p value 0.1671 (level of significance set at p value Yes No
< 0.05) Vcndor looks clcan 173(93.5%) 1 2(G.Sil/n)
Use of apron 57(30.8%) 128(69.2%)
Hair covcri~ig 152(82.2%) 33(17.8%)
Table iv: Food re-heating in relation to warmrless of Well kcpt finger-nails 102(55.2%) 83(44.8%)
food sold Food adequately protected 103(56.0%) 82(44.3%)
from flies
Food re-heating warmness of food Total
Presence of clean wash 124(67.0%) 61 (33.0%)
Cold ilot/Wartn
hand basin
Yes 13 59 72 Presence of undressed 35(18.9%) 150(81.I%)
No 22 91 113 skin lesion
Clean service table 132(71.4%) 53(28.6%)
Total 35 150 185
p value 0.8108 (level of significance set at p value
< 0.05) Discussion
Over 98% of the respondents in this study wcre
Accessibility to water source around the vending fenialcs, which is an indication tliat food vending tratlc
units was low, with 85(45.9%) of thc rcspondcnts Ilaving is predominanlly a job for women7.Tlie involvcmc~itof
water source within 400 meters radius of the vcnding people under tlic agc of 20 years in this typc of business
units, while 100(54.1%) had to walk over 400 meters to was observed to be low in this study. Only about 3% of
get water in the schools' compounds. The care of used the total subjects were identified to be teenagers. The
utensils was poor with only 85(45.9%) of the total subjects lower figure of the teenagers observed in this stutly did
using soap and water to clean their utensils. Analysis of not agree with other reports which indicated that
methods of care for used serving utensils by the vendors teenagers constitute a significant proportion of the labour
and relating this to water availability around the vending force involved in this sector of The discrepancy
units showed that respondents who clearled their utensils in this finding and that reported in othcr studies could be
with soap and warer sold food at locations wllerc watcr illat some school autlloritics linvc policy wliicll
accessibility was within 400 meters radius, as against deliberately do not favour under-aged people to vend
others who used other methods to clean their utensils. food in their schools, since the authority tnay consider
This finding is not statistically significant (Table v). such as a form of child abuse or labour.

194 Tlle Nigerian 1'0lstgraduate Medicill Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3, September, 2003
Food safely and food vendor: 0. I. Musa and'r. M. Akantle
Majority of the vendors (56.8%) had no formal
cducation and less than 40% of the total respondents had
any form of training on food hygiene. It is obvious [lien
that most are not only illiterates, they would lack
appreciation for safe food handling practices.
Corisequently they could be perceived to be a potential
risk to food safety due to their low educational background
and hence, may have little or no understandng of the
risks of microbial or chemical contamination of food or
how to avod them. ' ~ o o dhandlers, therefore, need to be
educated or trained on basic principles of food safety.
Their training should include essential information on
safe food handling, importance of time and temperature
control, sources of contamination, personal hygiene and
the need to report illness immediately to the appropriate
authorityI0.
Although food vending business assures food
security for students at school and provides a livelihood
for a large number of people who would otherwise be
unable to establish a business for want of capital, most of
the vendors involved in this study were poor as evident
by their involvement in other vocational activities that
bring in income in addition to what they get from school
food vending trade. Considering this poor economic status
of these vendors, the tendency is for some of them to be
concerned with profit making at the expense of
r~laintainingstandard food handling practice. These they
could do by using raw food material of deteriorating
quality, and this could jeopardize the health of the
consumer, which in this study were mainly the school
pupils. Other studies have revealed that street food trading
frequently a low status and poorly job, which may lead to
poor motivation among the vendors7.
Over 68% of the vendors have being in this
business for over 4 years whie in the recent time about
32% of vendors have joined the trade. This showed that
food vending trade is an expanding sector of the food
industry in our community thus supporting ealier report
that food vending is rapidly increasing in size and scope
in developing countries7.The turnover rate of the vendors
in these schools was rather low compared to what has
been reported in other studies conducted among street
food vendors elsewhere. About 92% of the vendors in
this study had vended food in not more than 2 schools in
the past while only 8% have tried 3 or more schools
before. The low turnover rate seen in this study is contrary
to what has been reported el~ewhere~.~.". This is expected
because the vendors involved in this study operate within
an organized setting, which is the school, wliere they are
sure of regular sale, as against other studies where rlle
vendors were street food vendors who had no guarantee
of daily sale and had to roam from one street to another.
Majority of the subjects (about 76%) had
undergone one form of medical test or the other before
being allowed to sell food in their respective schools. This
clearly supported the claim that most authorities in
developing countries still emphasise medical examnation
The Nigerian Postgraduate Medlcnl Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3, September, 2003
as a pre-requisite for peoplc to be cngagctl in food tradc2
despite the WHO contrary vicw against such procedure
or prnctice'J9. Unfortunately, most of thcsc vendors aftcr
the initial medical examination do not go for pcriodic
medical examination nor rcport to thc scl~oolauthority
when ill. This has ncgatcd the purpose and i~nportancc
of the initial medical examination.
Medical examinations of food handling pcrsonncl
are valid only for the time at which tl~cyarc carricd out
and therefore is valueless if it is not backcd up with
periodic medical exaniinntion or re-examination of
vendors reporting ilP.' s 9. About 22% of the respondents
ever reported to the school clinic or informcd the school
authority when ill and fcw had medical rc-examination
done before commencing prcparation and sale of food
after recovery. This altitude is a great risk to food safety
because acute illness or convalescent stage are well known
to be periods which food contamination oftcn occurrcd2-'.
Reports have shown that in out-breaks traccd to food
handlers, food contamination usually occurred during or
immediately after an acute illne~s~.'~.
Afairly large number of the vendors (33%)
prepared food well in advancc (over 4 hours) bcforc sale,
while about 39% of the subjccts reheat thcir food before
sale. These two practices (of advancc cooking and rc-
heating of storcd cookctl food) arc major factors
p r e d i s p o s i ~ ~ gto food contamination and food
p o i s ~ n i n g ~Also
J ~ ~ ,this study showed that vendors who
prepared food well in advance wcrc involvcd in re-hcating
of such food before sale. Reports have shown that allowing
sevcral hours to clapse between preparation and
consumption of food and inadequate re-heating of food
often result in food This is because food
stored at ambient tempcraturc favour microbes to thrive
and quickly prolircrate to tliseasc producing levels. In
somc scliools food wcrc not wcll protcctcd from flics
during salcs. This was bccausc tllc vendor had to manage
a largc crowd during break time. So in an attcmpt to sell
at a fast rate they oftcn left the food container opencd for
long time until the crowd had reduced. So food contami-
nation during sale by contacts of flics on the food in
highest when crowd is large and disorganized.
Care of used utensils was poor, and this could be
due to limited timc availbale for tile vendors to vcnd food
and as wcll wash thesc utcnsils. Couplcd with this, there
was poor accessibility to water sourcc in most schools.
The distance between the watcr source in the schools and
the vending units was mostly over 400 mctcrs. The poor
care of utcnsils duc to poor watcr acccssibility obscrvcd
in this study corroborate WMO report that tlic most critical
problcms in street food vending is the supply of water of
acceptable quality and in sufficient quantities for
drinking, washing and cleaning of utcnsils8. The report
indicated that ambulant vcndors can carry only lilnitcd
supplies and even the stationary food stalls may not have
direct access to water supply. Similarly report from a
survey conducted among street vendors in various parts
195
Food safety and food vendor: 0. I. Musa and T. M. Akande
of tlic world showed that vendors in most dcveloping
countries often wash their utensils in water that has been
previously used7. Therefore, water supply need close
attention in street food operation. As much as possible,
the production and sale units should Iiave functional water
supplies that are readily accessible.
The fact that most vendors covered their hair during
food sale as seen is this study is a reflcction of the socio-
cultural mode of diessing of the studied community. This
observation highlights the positive role of culture in the
promotion of food safety in this community. Assessment
of hygiene practices of the vendors showed that largc
numbers of the vendors do not have well kcpt finger-nails,
and this can serve as a vehicle for transmi-ssion of
p a t h o g e n ~ ' ~ JAbout
~ J ~ . 19% of the vendors were observed
to have open skin lesions. Presence of skin lesions
especiallythose with discharges is an important risk factor
in food contamination and occurrence of food poisoning.
This is because discharge from these lesions can casily
come in contact with the food or utensils used to serve
food. Also flies can transfer pathogens from thc infcctcd
lesion unto food or the utensils. WHO reco-mmendation
is that food handlers with infected skin lesion should not
be allowed to handle food unless the lesion is aseptically
kept or such vendor has had medical treatment3v9.
Food handlers in institutions such as scl~oolsneed
to be closely supervised to ensure that they handle food
in most hygienic ways. I-Iealth education in thc form of
training on basic principles of food safety will be useful
in promoting food safety among this group.
Acknowledgements
We acknowlege, with thanks, the Chairman (Dr.
M. Salami) and the entire members of "All Nigeria
Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools"
(ANCOPSS) Kwara State chapter for their support and
cooperation. We also thank Professor D. B. Parakoyi of
the department of Epidemiology and Community I.lcalt11,
University of Ilorin, for his useful comments and
contributions.
The Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal, Vol. 10, No. 3, Scplember, 2003
View publication stats
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