Gbolagade Benjamin ADESIJI, Ibrahim Salihu TYABO, Mohammed IBRAHIM, Haruna Muhammad USMAN, Sola Emmanuel KOMOLAFE

Towards Food Safety: Hand Washing and Environmental Hygiene Practices of Farming Households in North-Central Nigeria

In recent times, the potential of good health status of farmers in improving the agricultural productivity had been a concern hence, this study examined the hand washing and environmental hygiene practices for food safety among farming households in North-Central Nigeria. Five-stage random sampling technique was employed to select 256 farming households for the study. Interview schedule was used to elicit data from the respondents. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, charts, mean score and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The result of the study shows that respondents mean age was 37years. The average number of respondents’ visits to health service workers was 3 times/per annum. Majority (73.8%) of the respondents are aware of the need to always wash hands after using the toilet. There is low knowledge on the use soap/ash to wash hand before eating (36.3%), preparing food/cooking (20.3%), changing baby’s wear (24.2%), after defecating (19.1%) and before feeding children (18.40%). Majority of the respondents got their water for household purposes from dug well (57%) and bore holes (52%). Majority (84%) treat their water by allowing it to stand and settle before use. The use of bush (41.8%) and pit latrine (41.4%) are the major means of defecation. Household wastes were mostly dump in a nearby bush (mean=2.51). Pearson product moment correlation analysis shows that age (r=0.538, p< 0.05), level of education (r=0.398, p<0.05) and number of contacts with community health service workers (r=0.402, p<0.05) were positive and significantly related to farmers households’ knowledge of hand-washing and environmental hygiene practices. The study concluded that respondents were aware of the need to wash hands as food safety measure mostly before and after eating food and after defecating. It is recommended that government and other concern agencies should intensify effort in programmes that promotes food safety practices and sensitize farming households in the study area on the important of hand-washing most especially after cleaning/changing baby wears and before preparing food/cooking.

Keywords:

Knowledge, hand washing, sources of water, waste disposal,

PDF

___

Aarnisalo, K., Tallavaara, K., Wirtanen, G., Maijala, R. and Raaska, L. (2006). The hygienic working practices of maintenance personnel and equipment hygiene in the Finnish food industry. Journal of Food Control 17: 1001-1011.
Abd Patah, M. O. R., Issa. Z. M. and Nor, K. M. (2009). Food safety Attitude of Culinary Arts Based Students in Public and Private Higher Learning Institutions (IPT). International Education Studies 2(4): 168 – 178.
Adejero, L. (2013). Proper Food Safety Practices and Hand Washing Prevent Food Borne Diseases. Daily Times of 3rd December, 2013. Retrieved on 3rd March, 2014 from www.dailytimes.com.ng
Bizatu, M. and Negga, B. (2010). Community based assessment on household management of waste and hygiene practices in Kersa Woreda Eastern Ethiopia. Ethiopia Journal of Health Development. 24(2):103 -109.
Cairncross, S. Hunt, C. Boisson, S. Bostoen, K. Curtis, V. Fung, I. and Schmidt, W.P. (2010) Water, sanitation and hygiene for the prevention of diarrhoea. International Journal of Epidemiology. 39(1): 193-205.
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) (2005). Global and Local Food Safety Around the World. Pp 4-28 Retrieved June 10, 2014, from www.safefoodinternational.org Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) (2007). Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Study (KAPS): Infant and young child feeding and health seeking practices of Somalia (Report).Retrieved on 25th/8/2014 from http:www.fsausomali.org: 5- 45
Gbadegesin, N. and Olorunfemi, F. (2007). Assessment of Rural Water Supply Management in Selected Rural Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria. ATPS Working Paper Series 49: 1 – 64. A publication of African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), P.O. Box 10081, 00100 General Post office, Nairobi, Kenya.
Gul, R. (2012). Hand washing practices of food handlers in the hospitality establishments of Peshawar city. Journal of Medical Science (Peshawar, Print), 20(1): 22-25.
Jens, V., Monika, T., Rainer, L., Ibrahim, B., Sibel, S., Aynur, K., Alexendra, U., Farouk, M. and Herbert, P. (2009). Detection of Adenoviruses and Rotaviruses in Drinking Water Sources Used in Rural Areas of Benin, West Africa. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 75 (9): 2798–2801.
Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (Mission East/KIRDARC) (2009). Knowledge, Attitude and Practices “Clean water, improved sanitation and hygiene promotion in rural villages of Humla and Mugu, Mid-West Nepal” ECHO/NPL/BUD/2008/01005 Final report. Pp 8 – 22.
Mohammed, S. G. S. (2013). Food Safety Knowledge among Women in Selected Areas in Khartoum City. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India, 2 (2): 519-525. Musa, O. I. and Akande, M. T. (2003). Food Hygiene Practices of Food Vendors in Secondary Schools in Ilorin. The Nigerian Postgraduate Journal, 10 (3): 192-196.
Nee, S.O.I. and Sani, N.A. (2011). Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and practice (KAP) Among Food Handlers at Residential Colleges and Canteen Regarding Food Safety. Sains Malaysiana 40 (4): 403-410.
Phaswana-Mafuya, N. and Shukla, N. (2005). Factors that could motivate people to adopt safe hygienic practices in the Eastern cape Province, South Africa. Africa Health Sciences, 5 (1):21 – 28.
Rahman, M. M., Taha Arif, M., Bakar, K., and Tambi, Z. (2012): Food Safety Knowledge, Attitude and Hygiene Practices among the Street Food Vendors in Northern Kuching City, Sarawak . Borneo Science. 31: 95 - 103.
Sudershan. R.V., Rao, P. and Polasa, K (2009). Food Safety Research in India: a review. Asian Journal of Food and Agro-Industry 2(03): 412-433.
Tyabo, I. S., Ibrahim, M., Ndanista, M. A. and Umar, I. S. (2014). Assessment of participation of Rural Women in Farming Activities in Shiroro Community of Niger State, Nigeria. International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences 4(4): 573-586.
UNICEF/WHO (2008), A Snapshot of Drinking Water and Sanitation in Africa: A regional perspective based on new data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation retrieved 23rd/12/2014 from www.wssinfo.org.
UNICEF (2008). Global Hand Washing Day – Planners guide. Retrieved on 8th/10/2015 from www. unicef.org
UNICEF (2010). Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/wes/ index.html. on 23rd/12/2014.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - World Water Assessment Programme (UNESCO-WWAP) (2003). Water for People, Water for Life: The United Nations World Water Development Report. UNESCO and Berghahn Books, Barcelona,Spain.
Warnock, F (2007). Community Based Intervention Study of Food Safety Practices in Rural Community Households of Cambodia. Final Report Submitted to World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific. Pp15.

Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi-Cover

ISSN: 1300-2910
Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 3 Sayı
Başlangıç: 1985
Yayıncı: Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi Yayın Ofisi