Assessment of Microbial Content of Street Foods and Hygiene Practices Of Food Vendors: A Case Study of Opetekwei Community, Ablekumah West Municipality

Abstract

Street food is a vital component of Ghana's urban food system, providing affordable meals and livelihoods, particularly in low-income areas. Despite its benefits, the safety of street food remains a significant public health concern. This study therefore investigated microbial contamination in selected street foods and assessed vendor hygiene practices in Opetekwei in the Ablekuma West Municipality in the city of Accra, with the view to making proposals for improving the urban food sector. Using a mixed-method approach, interviews were conducted with 31 street food vendors and 100 consumers, alongside discussions with regulatory officials. Laboratory analysis of 50 food samples tested for total aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold, total coliforms, and pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Shigella sp., and Vibrio cholerae. The study found most vendors were female (97%). While 99.5% had good food safety knowledge, their hygiene practices were poor. Notably, 77% of vending sites were near choked gutters and dusty roads, all lacked running water, and 87% of vendors handled money while serving. Poor hygiene was linked to education level (p = 0.006). Consumers were predominantly male (64%), with 63% buying street food daily despite 82% lacking confidence in vendors’ hygiene. Popular meals included Koko (61%) for breakfast, stir-fried noodles (indomie) (80%) for dinner, and waakye (66%), banku (55%), and kenkey (55%) for lunch or dinner. Affordability (61%) and taste (66%) influenced street food purchases. Several food samples, including macaroni (M), salad (S), fish (F), waakye (W), gari (G), indomie (I), pepper sauce (P), and kenkey (K), exceeded microbial safety limits set by the Health Protection Agency (2009), Centre for Food Safety (2014), and ICMSF (2018). For Total Aerobic Count, many samples were deemed "unsatisfactory" (>5 log CFU/g), with M3 having the highest count (9.24 log CFU/g). Kenkey (K8) (8.12 log CFU/g) had the highest yeast and mold count exceeding the limit of >3 log CFU/g. Total Coliform Count also surpassed the acceptable threshold (>4 log CFU/g) in samples like M2 (7.35 log CFU/g), S2 (5.99 log CFU/g), W4 (6.45 log CFU/g), P8 (5.81 log CFU/g), F3 (6.29 log CFU/g) and K8 (8.49 log CFU/g). Notably, E. coli was detected in 81.82% of Macaroni, 66.67% of Salad, 75% of Pepper sauce, 37.5% of Indomie samples. Salmonella sp. was present in 6.25% of Kenkey, 25% of Fish, and 6.25% of Indomie samples. The prevalence of Shigella sp. was detected in 18.18% of Waakye, 81.81% of Macaroni, 33.33% of salad, 43.75% of Fish, and 43.75% of Indomie samples. No pathogen was detected in gari samples. Vibrio cholera was present in 9.9% of Waakye, 36.36% of macaroni, 11.11% of salad, 6.25% of kenkey and pepper sauce, 37.5% of fish, and 12.5% of Indomie. The pathogens identified in the sampled foods reflect inadequate sanitary conditions at many vending sites, poor food hygiene practices, lack of personal hygiene among vendors, and ineffective temperature control of food. The study highlights the need for street food vendor and consumer training on hygiene, improved food vending infrastructure, regular inspections of the street food vendors by the Environmental health Unit, and frequent microbial testing to ensure food safety compliance.