Food Safety In Selected Senior High Schools In The Ho Municipality, Volta Region

ABSTRACT

In the school catering setting, food handlers particularly those in boarding

senior high schools are considered the most sensitive group responsible for all

forms of contamination resulting in various forms of food-borne illnesses. The

purpose of the study was to assess food safety in selected Senior High Schools

in the Ho Municipality. Questionnaire and observation checklist were used to

gather data on the food safety knowledge and practices of 97 food handlers

recruited from boarding secondary schools registered with the Ghana

Education Service in the Ho Municipality. Sixty food samples collected from

the schools were also analyzed to determine their microbial quality. Chi-square

statistic was used to establish the relationship between food safety knowledge

and the socio-demographic characteristics of food handlers. The results showed

that majority of food handlers had high knowledge in food safety issues but

their practices did not reflect this level of knowledge. Among the major

barriers that accounted for the gap between knowledge and practice were

inadequate provision of equipment and resources, irregular water supply as

well as inadequate space and the unenclosed nature of the kitchen. These

subsequently influenced the microbial quality of prepared foods served to

students. It is recommended that closer and more stringent supervision during

food preparation processes in boarding secondary schools should be carried out

by the Ho Municipal Assembly to prevent possible outbreak of food-borne

illness in the future. Also, health education should be carried out by the Ho

Municipal Assembly together with the school authorities to improve the food

safety knowledge and hygiene practices of food handlers.