Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Food Vendors on Food Hygiene in Higher Institution in Ogun State, Nigeria

The outbreak of food borne illness continues to hit various communities and institutions in the country; this, perhaps, is an indication of poor food hygiene by food vendors. Thus, food hygiene is a subject of great concern to anyone who cares about eating healthy and staying alive. This research work was carried out among food vendors in four higher institutions in Ogun State, Nigeria. It assessed the knowledge, attitude and practice on food hygiene by food vendors in higher institutions in Ogun State. The study is descriptive in nature and involved 308 food vendors. Data were collected with the use of pre-tested questionnaires with the aid of two research assistants, and analysed using computer software package. The results of this study revealed significant positive relationship between participants’ gender and practice of food hygiene (r = .463, p < .05), practice of food hygiene positively correlated with knowledge of health hygiene (r = .397, p < .01), participants’ attitude towards food hygiene has a significant relationship with knowledge (r = .518, p < .05), and practice (r = .437, p < .01). 77.9% of the participants have moderate knowledge of food hygiene, positive attitude while the food vendors have a mean score of 14.0 which is equivalent to 87.3%. Thus, their practice of food hygiene is good. It was recommended that nutritional education among food vendors should be encouraged to promote healthier food preparation, processes, and sales.