Assessment of Hygiene Practices Among Food Vendors in Ikwo L.G.A of Ebonyi State

This study centered on assessment of Food hygiene practices among food vendors in Ikwo L.G.A. To guide the study, three research questions were posed. The Literature review in this study was organized under conceptual framework, theoretical framework, review of related empirical studies and summary of literature review. A quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive study which took the form of an observation survey was adopted. The study was conducted within the vending sites in ikwo L.G.A. of Ebonyi state with a sample size of 60 Vendors purposefully sampled. The instrument was validated d the reliability of the instrument was 0.85. A structured questionnaire and observation checklist were used as the instrument for the collection of data and the research were analyzed descriptively using mean and standard deviation. The result of the study revealed that moslyy2vended foods in ikwo are rich in carbohydrates but deficient in proteins, poor environmental sanitation and waste handling practices, moderate adherence to food handling pract practices as foods are always covered to avoid contamination but the compliance to the standard hygiene practice is rarely upheld especially in handling food and money simultaneously by the same vendor. In line with the findings of the study, the recommendations were proferred among others that compliance to the standard hygiene practice as outline by WHO should be enforced and regularly upheld. Vendors should be encouraged to maintain high level of personal hygiene and cleanliness around the vending slights. The limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies were equally made.