Factors associated with food safety practice and drinking-water quality of food establishments in Bishoftu Town, Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction Globally, food and waterborne diseases remain a critical public health problem, although the issue is severe in low and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. This study aimed to identify factors associated with food safety practices and the drinking water quality of food establishments. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 160 food outlets were enrolled using a systematic random sampling method. A structured questionnaire and observational checklist were used to collect data. Descriptive, binary, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted. Drinking water samples were taken from the food establishments' drinking-water storage and were bacteriologically and chemically tested. Heat-sterilized bottles of 250 ml capacity for bacteriological and 1000 ml plastic bottles for chemical parameters were used to collect drinking-water samples. Results In this study, food establishments with female managers were 3.7 times higher in good food safety practices than those with male managers (AOR = 3.7, with 95% CI 1.33–10.21). Moreover, food establishments that owned trained food handlers in sanitation and hygiene were 4.8 times more likely to be in good food safety practices than those that did not have trained food handlers (AOR = 4.8, with 95% CI 1.37–17.00). Besides, food outlets with large service were 9.6 times higher in good food safety practices than those with small service (AOR = 9.6, with 95% CI 2.2–42.1). On the other hand, food outlets which had married managers were 0.3 times less likely to be in good food safety practices than those food establishments which had single managers (AOR = 0.3, with 95% CI 0.11–0.93). In this study, only 51% of the food establishments had good food safety practices. Besides, 29.5%, 16.8%, and 7.4% of the food outlets’ drinking-water samples were positive for total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and E. coli, respectively. Conclusion Many vital factors influencing the food safety practice of food establishments were identified. Almost half of the food outlets had poor food safety practices. A significant number of drinking water samples from the food outlets' were contaminated. Therefore, food establishments should implement continuous monitoring and inspection systems to improve food safety practices. In addition, the government should implement an effective regulatory system to improve the food safety practices, water quality, sanitation, and hygiene services of the food outlets.

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and drinking water contamination risk levels in households of Bishoftu Town, Ethiopia: A cross‐sectional study

“…The crater lakes and large swamp areas are part of Bishoftu town's dominant features and play an important role in the area's rapid economic and socioeconomic development. The city has nine urban and five rural lowest administration levels, and an estimated 171,227 inhabitants 25 . Bishoftu Town Water Utility Office (BTWUO) is the authority responsible for providing water supply and sewage services to the town.…”

“…The city has nine urban and five rural lowest administration levels, and an estimated 171,227 inhabitants. 25 Bishoftu Town Water Utility Office (BTWUO) is the authority responsible for providing water supply and sewage services to the town. According to the office's unpublished recent report, the town receives its water from 30 boreholes, with a total daily water production of 26,000 cubic meters.…”

“…4 In Ethiopia, only 11% of inhabitants used safely managed drinking water services. 5 According to the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) report, 65.2% of households had access to basic water services, 6 while only 25.9% and 38% of households had access to basic sanitation and basic hygiene services, respectively, and 19.7% had access to improved sanitation services. 7 On the other hand, 17% of Ethiopian households practised open defecation.…”

Associations of WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Service Ladder service levels and sociodemographic factors with diarrhoeal disease among children under 5 years in Bishoftu town, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…It is located at a distance of 44 km from the capital Addis Ababa 29. The town is clustered into nine urban kebeles (administrative units) and five rural kebeles with a total population of 171 227 30. The latitude and longitude of Bishoftu town are 8.734650 and 39.008533, respectively 31.…”

Bacterial Contamination and Antimicrobial Resistance in Drinking Water From Food and Drinking Establishments in Shashemane Town, Ethiopia

“…16 Similarly, study conducted on drinking water in food establishments in Bishoftu town revealed heavy contamination by fecal coliforms at the point of use. 17 In Shashemane district, despite continued efforts on water sanitation and hygiene as well as frequent inspection and licensing of food establishments, frequent outbreaks including acute watery diarrhea persist. 18 Nonetheless, these studies focused on detecting the presence of E. coli in drinking water only at the point of use, without detecting at the source.…”