Al-Hikmah University Journal

Food is an important basic necessity that provides nutrient and energy for growth and development of humans. Food handlers play a crucial role in ensuring food hygiene as well as the transmission of food poisoning. This study was aimed at assessing knowledge, practices of food handling and identify the associated factors for safe food handling among selected food handlers in GRA Ilorin. A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out on 191 food handlers that met the inclusion criteria. Data was collected using a pre tested questionnaires with the aid of research assistants and analyzed using SPSS version 28.0. The majority of food handlers were aged 25 to 35 years. 85% of food handlers had acceptable knowledge about food hygiene but good practice was practiced by very few handlers. 50.3% did not keep the work surface clean and disinfected, 25.7% dried dishes with their aprons, 47.1% cooked meat for 45 minutes, 39.8% did not wash vegetables before cooking, 48.7% had long nails and 40.3% continue to work even though they had an infectious disease like flue. The knowledge and attitude about food hygiene was good amongst food handlers but the practice of food hygiene was only fair. Direct observation of hygiene practices observation amongst these handlers revealed that most of them dried their hands with their aprons after washing them. The responsible authority should therefore continuously inspect these restaurants and set up safety precautions to protect the public.