The competence of street food vendors to provide nutritious and safe food to consumers: a cross-sectional survey among street food vendors in Northern Ghana

Increasingly most people have their meals outside their homes and are vulnerable to illnesses caused by unsafe foods. Unsafe food preparation and supply by vendors have made food safety a concern for public health. The present study evaluated the nutrition knowledge, attitude and food safety and hygienic practices of street food vendors (SFVs) in Northern Ghana. An analytical cross-sectional study design was conducted among 424 SFVs, and the data were collected using questionnaires and observation. The mean +/- SD nutrition knowledge score of the SFVs was 7 center dot 08 +/- 1 center dot 75 in which the majority of the participants (68 center dot 6 %) knew foods that help fight diseases and build immunity. The mean +/- SD food safety and hygienic practice score was 7 center dot 61 +/- 2 center dot 66 with more than half of the participants reportedly not using hand gloves while preparing and serving food. Factors that were associated with food safety and hygienic practices of the SFVs were level of education (beta = -0 center dot 36, P < 0 center dot 001), number of hours worked (beta = 0 center dot 15, P = 0 center dot 002), food hygiene and safety knowledge (beta = 0 center dot 21, P = 0 center dot 002), having a business certificate (beta = -0 center dot 15, P = 0 center dot 004) and having medical check-up (beta = 0 center dot 11, P = 0 center dot 029). The food safety and hygienic practices of the SFVs may constitute a food safety risk to consumers. Improving food safety and hygiene knowledge may be important but regular monitoring and check-up by the FDA could result in SFVs following the required food safety and hygienic practices.