ISABB Journal of
Food and Agricultural Sciences

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AFRICAN BIOTECHNOLOGISTS AND BIOSCIENTISTS
  • Abbreviation: ISABB. J. Food and Agric. Sci.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1937-3244
  • DOI: 10.5897/ISABB-JFAS
  • Start Year: 2011
  • Published Articles: 38

Article in Press

Food Safety Awareness and Practices of Food Handlers in Cafes and Restaurants of Ambo, Guder and Ginchi Towns of West Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Teshale Jifara Mengeda, Solomon Amsalu Gesese, Fikiru Temesgen Geleta, Belete Demuma Geleta, and Diriba Edae Gemeda

  •  Received: 06 March 2019
  •  Accepted: 06 March 2019
Good food safety awareness and practices play a great role for handlers in food production, and to guarantee foods served are safe for consumption. Aware or unintended contamination of such food places consumers at risk of suffering from food-borne infections. As a result the study was carried out to document the food safety awareness, food safety practices and attitudes of the managerin food businesses in Ambo, Guder and Ginchi towns of West Shoa of Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. The study targeted 120 food handlers and managers in the cafes and restaurants.The study involved an interview, followed by visual observation of the food handlers, equipment, homes and environment of the café and restaurants for confirmation.SPSS version 22 and descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the survey data collected from respondents. Majority of respondents were between the ages of 16 - 26years (54.2%) with tertiary or post-secondary education. The study revealed that food safety awareness and attitudes of the managerswere satisfactory; however its practice was sensational The study concluded thatthe food safety awareness, food safety practices and attitudes of the manager did not result an efficient food safety practices. It is recommended that training of food handlers for the control of environmental and technical sources of contamination is mandatory to secure food safety.

Keywords: Awareness; Practices; Attitudes; Food handlers; Food safety