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Impact of Food Vendor Hygiene Education on Food Hygiene Practices among Street Food Vendors in Nigeria

Abstract

Street-vended foods provide an important source of affordable and accessible meals for many people in Nigeria and contribute to household livelihoods and local economic activity. However, inadequate food hygiene practices among street food vendors may increase the risk of food contamination and foodborne diseases. Street food vendors may encounter challenges related to access to clean water, sanitation facilities, waste disposal systems, food storage equipment, environmental cleanliness, and appropriate food-handling resources. Food vendor hygiene education provides vendors with knowledge and practical skills relating to personal hygiene, proper handwashing, safe food handling, prevention of cross-contamination, appropriate cooking and reheating, safe food storage, cleaning and sanitation of utensils and food-contact surfaces, protection of food from environmental contamination, proper waste disposal, and recognition of unsafe food. Food hygiene practices refer to behaviours adopted by street food vendors to maintain food safety throughout food preparation, handling, storage, transportation, display, and sale. In Nigeria, inadequate food safety knowledge, limited access to basic hygiene facilities, environmental contamination, economic constraints, and inconsistent enforcement of food safety regulations may contribute to unsafe practices among street food vendors. Effective food vendor hygiene education may improve vendors' knowledge, practical skills, risk perception, and adoption of appropriate food hygiene practices. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of food vendor hygiene education on food hygiene practices among street food vendors in Nigeria. The study is anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework. The Health Belief Model explains preventive health behaviour through perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action, providing a basis for understanding food vendors' adoption of safe food hygiene practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the interaction between knowledge, self-efficacy, social influences, behavioural capabilities, and environmental conditions in shaping food hygiene behaviour. The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework provides a basis for examining how improved knowledge and attitudes resulting from food vendor hygiene education may influence food hygiene practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how food vendor hygiene education may influence food hygiene practices among street food vendors in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. Primary data will be collected from street food vendors in selected urban and semi-urban communities in Nigeria using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and an observational food hygiene checklist. A multistage sampling technique will be employed to select states, local government areas, communities or markets, vending locations, and eligible street food vendors. Where feasible, selected vendor groups or vending locations will be assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Vendors in the intervention group will receive structured food vendor hygiene education covering foodborne diseases, personal hygiene, proper handwashing, safe food handling, prevention of cross-contamination, adequate cooking and reheating, safe food storage and display, protection of food from environmental contamination, cleaning and sanitation of utensils and food-contact surfaces, safe water use, waste disposal, and appropriate handling of food-contact materials. Food hygiene practices will be assessed using indicators such as hand hygiene, use of clean protective clothing, safe food preparation and handling, separation of raw and cooked foods, protection of food from dust and pests, appropriate cooking and reheating, safe food storage and display, cleanliness of utensils and surfaces, safe water use, and proper waste disposal. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize vendors' sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, food hygiene knowledge, exposure to education, and observed food hygiene practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired-sample tests, independent-sample tests, and logistic or multiple regression analysis, will be used to determine the impact of food vendor hygiene education on food hygiene practices. Appropriate diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability of the research instrument, model assumptions, goodness of fit, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that food vendor hygiene education has a significant positive impact on food hygiene practices among street food vendors in Nigeria. Vendors exposed to structured hygiene education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of foodborne disease prevention and greater compliance with recommended food hygiene practices. Education may improve hand hygiene, reduce cross-contamination, promote safer food preparation and storage, encourage protection of food from environmental contaminants, improve cleaning and sanitation of utensils and surfaces, and strengthen appropriate waste disposal practices. However, education alone may not guarantee sustained improvement because street food vendors may continue to face barriers such as inadequate access to clean water, insufficient sanitation facilities, limited refrigeration and food storage equipment, poor waste disposal infrastructure, environmental pollution, financial constraints, and competing economic pressures. Consequently, food vendor hygiene education is expected to be most effective when supported by accessible water and sanitation facilities, appropriate vending infrastructure, regular food safety inspections, supportive regulatory measures, and continuous health education. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on food hygiene, street food safety, foodborne disease prevention, environmental health, occupational health, health education, and public health in Nigeria by providing empirical evidence on the impact of food vendor hygiene education on food hygiene practices among street food vendors. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, state ministries of health, local government authorities, environmental health departments, market associations, food safety regulators, public health practitioners, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving the safety of street-vended foods. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening food vendor hygiene education, improving access to clean water and sanitation facilities at vending locations, strengthening routine food safety inspections, promoting hygienic vending environments, improving food safety compliance, and reducing the risk of foodborne diseases associated with street-vended foods across Nigeria.

Keywords: Food vendor hygiene education, food hygiene practices, street food vendors, street-vended foods, food safety, foodborne diseases, food handling, environmental health, food hygiene education, public health, Nigeria.