Sanitary conditions of food vending sites and food handling practices of street food vendors in Benin city,Nigeria: Implication for food hygiene and safety

Objective. to determine the sanitary conditions of vending sites as well as food handling practices of street food vendors in benin city,nigeria. methodology. a descriptive cross-sectional study was done using an observational checklist and researcher-administered questionnaire. 286 randomly selected vending units were surveyed,and their operators interviewed on their food handling practices. results. a higher proportion,259 (90.5%),of the observed vending sites appeared clean. the following sanitary facilities were observed in and around the respective food premises of the respondents: waste bin,124 (43.4%),refuse dumpsite,41 (14.3%),wash hand basin,201 (71.2%),hand towel,210 (73.4%),and soap,220 (76.9%). there were also the presence of flies 118,(41.3%),and the presence of rats/cockroaches,7 (2.4%). respondents with tertiary education,5 (38.5%),vended foods in environment with good hygiene status compared to those with secondary,45 (31.7%),and primary education,33 (27.3%). there was no statistically significant association between educational status and the hygiene status of food premise (p=0.362). conclusion. this study showed that street food vending sites in benin city were sanitary and that food vendors had good food handling practices. © 2014 p. w. okojie and e. c. isah.