ABSTRACT
This study aimed at examining prerequisite programs of food
safety among hotels in Accra, using hotels in the Ga-West municipality as well
as the effects of gender and educational background on food safety in ten
selected hotels. Prerequisite program is defined as essential practices and
conditions for food safety required before and during the implementation of a
HACCP program. Food safety is the assurance that food will not endanger the
health of consumers when it is prepared and / or eaten according to its
intended use. It is therefore necessary for people to understand how their
behaviors and practices contribute to the safety of food, and how they can
decrease the risk of foodborne illness. The research used cross-sectional
descriptive survey design and considered 150 hotel staff as respondents using
questionnaire survey to collect primary data. The sampled data was
quantitatively analyzed using SPSS software on demographics, knowledge and
practices of food safety/hygiene as well as environmental sanitation. The study
results show that generally, attitudes and behaviors of hotel food-handlers in
Ghana were satisfactory in the areas of food safety knowledge, personal
hygiene, and cleaning and sanitation procedures, but unsatisfactory in areas of
food handling and serving as well as food supply and storage. The men (54 %)
dominated in the hotel food preparation in this study. There were no obvious
differences between men and women with regards to their food safety knowledge,
behaviors and attitudes. However, respondents with higher educational
background were more knowledgeable on issues of food safety and hygiene than
those with lower educational background. Food safety education and training for
food-handlers, targeting specifically those with lower levels of education,
should be strengthened to complement other interventions that pursue the
enhancement of food safety systems in Ghana.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The hospitality industry has become well-known in recent
times, in response to the change in lifestyle and globalization, thus
accounting for its growth due to the rise in population, international travel
and trade and economic growth of capital towns in Ghana (Mowforth and Munt,
2015). Hotel restaurants offer ready to eat and ease access to food to
individuals, tourists and foreigners who are incapable of preparing their own
meals or who are away from home.
Prerequisite Programs (PRPs) provide basic operating and
environmental conditions required for safe food production, providing the foundation
for Hazard Analysis and Critical control Points (HACCP). They are the practices
needed prior to and during implementation of the HACCP plan that are essential
for food safety by describing Procedures to prevent the hazard (Baş et al.,
2006). Examples of prerequisite programs possible for preventing hazards are
good hygienic practices, good manufacturing practices, pest control, sanitation
programs, residues programs, and many more.
Foodborne disease occurs as a consequence of consuming
contaminated food that contains microorganisms such as pathogenic bacteria,
parasites and viruses. In Ghana, Food safety is a national concern
specifically, food that is served away from home to the public by food service
industries such as the hospitality industries. Research by the Ministry of Food
and Agriculture and the World Bank (2007), reported that one in every forty
Ghanaian citizen suffers from food borne illness yearly and over 420,000 cases
of food borne outbreak are recorded yearly.
Although it is very important for food handlers to observe
higher standards of food safety policies, food safety and food hygiene
practices among food handlers are appalling (Monney et al., 2014). Studies show
that diarrheal infections contribute 96 % of food borne diseases of the world
population, with 62 % of the population dying from eating unsafe food (Pimentel
et al., 2017). The rate of food borne illness in Ghana is estimated to be 5.8
million yearly (Mensah and Aikins, 2010). The high occurrence of diarrheal
diseases in most developing countries is due to consumption of unsafe food and
poor personal hygiene practices and food safety problems (Akhtar et al., 2014).
Thus, it is necessary for the continuous awareness creation and strict
enforcement of regulations in the Ghanaian food industries. Therefore, this
study was conducted to examine the state of food safety systems among selected
hotels.
1.2 Problem Statement
Ensuring food safety is a critical problem facing most
restaurants and hotel industries (Ababio and Lovatt, 2015). This has been
attributed to the lack of prerequisites programs such as good manufacturing
practices and other food safety system in the hospitality industry (Olaitan,
2011).
Studies that have been undertaken on the safety of street
foods in Ghana concluded that most of the foods prepared are done under
unhygienic conditions (Mensah et al., 2009). However, there is limited research
on the subject of Prerequisites Programs of food safety in relation to the
hospitality industry in the municipality. Research done in Jamaica by Stephanie
et al. (2009) showed that, hotel and restaurant industries are the major
sources of food contamination. Mensah (2016) has confirmed the fact that, there
is limited knowledge on the adoption of prerequisite programs in the hotel food
service industry in the Greater Accra Region.
1.3.1 Broad Objective
To examine the state of food safety systems in selected
hotels in Accra.
1.3.2 Specific Objectives
To determine the prerequisite programs of food safety in ten
selected hotels in the Ga-West municipality.
To determine the effects of gender and educational background
on food safety in selected hotels.
1.4. Research Questions
To what extent do hotels in the study area, conform to the
prerequisite programs on food safety?
What are the effects of gender and educational background in
conforming to Prerequisite programs in hotels in Greater Accra?
Study findings will provide the needed information for
stakeholders of the hospitality industries for greater improvement in the
overall food safety management. This will help the hospitality industries to
properly formulate, plan and evaluate strategies that effectively strengthen
the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of related staff regarding food safety
in order to sustain and grow their businesses devoid of regulatory sanctions.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The research covered selected hotels in the Ga-West
Municipality in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study concentrated on
issues affecting food safety in these hotels. The population of the study area
is 219,788 with comparatively more females than males. It has a youthful
population with 33.4 percent of them below the ages of 15 years (Population and
Housing Census, 2010).
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