Assessment of Food Hygiene Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Fish Handlers in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Fish farming is among agricultural activities that are used to fight food and nutritional security in Nigeria. But, the aim of the Nigerian government is not only to make its citizen food and nutritional secure, but to provide a safe food for its populace as well. The mere isolation and characterization of potential food borne illness pathogens does not provide sufficient information for public health policy development. Hence, a cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of fish handlers in Kaduna State, Nigeria. A structured face-to-face questionnaire was designed and administered to 37 street fish vendors between May-August, 2017. Results indicated that respondents had good level of knowledge and attitudes and poor practices toward food hygiene measures. Almost all of the food workers were aware of the role of hand washing before and after handling of fish as well as wearing protective clothing during work while majority lack knowledge about microbial hazards transmitted through fish in the (67–78%) study area. A significant positive correlation was observed between knowledge and attitude (rs = 0.60, P = 0.00), level of education (rs=0.5, P=0.000) and but negative correlation with years of business experience (rs=-0.3, P=0.03). A significance between knowledge and practices (rs = 0.2, P = 0.23) revealed that increased knowledge of food safety does not always result in positive change in fish handling behaviors.