Assessment of Food Hygiene Compliance of Wet Market Processors in Accra, Ghana

摘要

© 2022, International Association for Food Protection.Hygiene of processing facilities and process operations at wet markets, popularly known in Ghana as live bird markets, plays an important role in the safety of dressed poultry products. Compliance with good hygienic practices (GHPs) or good manufacturing practices is fundamental to improving and maintaining the safety and quality of poultry meat. This study assessed the level of compliance of live bird processing and retailing operations in wet markets in Ghana against GHPs. A total of 11 study sites in Accra were selected using cluster sampling. An audit checklist was designed based on the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s Code of Hygienic Practice for Meat (poultry) (CAC/RCP 58-2005) and the recommended international code of practice—general principles of food hygiene. Facilities that scored 90% to 100% were categorized as fully compliant, 70% to 89.9% indicated satisfactory, 50% to 69.9% indicated conditional satisfactory, and <50% indicated unsatisfactory. Results showed that none of the facilities audited were fully compliant; 9.1% were satisfactory, 63.6% were conditionally satisfactory, and 27% were unsatisfactory. The general performance shows a need for major to critical improvements in hygienic practices to meet GHP standards, which is the basic requirement for licensing food facilities in Ghana.