Sanitary status and associated factors among food and drink establishments in Hawassa city

Abstract

Background: Foodborne diseases are major public health issues both in developed and developing countries. Food borne illness is mostly associated with poor sanitation and hygiene environment of food outlets. However, there is limited evidence regarding the sanitary status of food and drink establishment in Hawassa city. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the sanitary status and associated factors among food and drink establishments.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to perform this study which was done from February to March 2020. All food and drink establishments in Hawassa city were eligible for the study. Hence, 388 food and drink establishments were selected via simple random sampling technique. Data were collected by five environmental health students through structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and observation checklist. Coded and cleaned data from EpiData version 3.5 were transferred to IBM SPSS version 23 for analysis. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine the sanitary status and associated factors, respectively.

Results: The overall level of poor sanitary status among food and drink establishments was 48.5%. In the multivariable analysis, private in ownership of building (AOR=1.83), manager/owner not trained about basic food safety and hygiene (AOR=5.0), monthly income of <10000 ETB (AOR=2.46), no medical checkup in past six month (AOR=5.8)] and food handler not trained about basic food safety (AOR=2.1) were the predictors of poor sanitation status.

Conclusion: Nearly half of the food and drink establishments had poor sanitary status. Hence, formal and informal training on sanitation and hygiene should be provided to managers and handers of food and drink establishments for improving the sanitary status and ultimately for reducing the occurrence of foodborne diseases.