Authors:
Uyamadu Evelyn Anuli, Haita Ndimballan, Alasana Kanteh and Modou Lamin Bah
Journal:
American Journal of Food Science and Technology
Content:
Bread is a significant staple food that can be consumed without further processing. However, given that
eating contaminated bread could have a negative impact on consumers' health, its safety has become a top concern
for the food industry. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of bread makers on
food safety and hygiene. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study involving 416 bread bakers from the registered
local and contemporary bread bakeries in GBA and Brikama. Data was collected using a structured and semi
structured questionnaire which was interviewer-administered and observation checklist. Thirty bread samples each
from the bakeries and the retailer shops were analyzed for pathogenic contamination. Data were analyzed using a
descriptive statistic, chi-square, and t-test at P=0.05. The majority of the respondents were males 96.4% and in the
age range of 25-54 years. Several (88.7%) had good knowledge of food safety and hygiene. The overall attitude
scores revealed that about 94% of the respondents had a poor attitude towards food safety and 86.6% of the
respondents in two bakeries had fair practice towards food hygiene and safety (70% and 16.8%) respectively. There
was a significant relationship between the knowledge (p=0.001), attitude (p=0.002), and practices (p=0.001) of the
respondents in local and contemporary bakeries. Bread analysis showed that only a third of the bread sampled from
the two bakeries (50% and 40%) were contaminated, while almost all the bread sampled from the bread sellers (40%
and 20%) were contaminated. The bread is more likely to be contaminated by pathogenic and non-pathogenic
microorganisms due to poor bakery hygiene conditions, bakers' handling of bakery procedures, and vendors'
attitudes. Therefore, all bakery employees and bread vendors should be trained on proper handling of bread to
prevent outbreaks of food borne illnesses.
Date:
2022-09-26
