Interplay of Socio-Cultural and Environmental Factors on Microbial Contamination of Food in Samaru, Kaduna State, Nigeria

In most disadvantaged communities in Northern Nigeria, adolescent girls engage in economic activities so that they can save money for household items to be bought for them when they are given out for marriage. These girls right from before they reach teenage age hawk items which include ready-to-eat foods. Various socio-cultural and environmental factors reinforce vulnerability of foods to microorganisms. Food safety awareness, knowledge and practices among food vendors can be affected by interplay between individual and outdoor factors. Teenagers engage in hawking food without understanding food-related risks for the preservation of their health and the health of others. Food hygiene is the conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety of food from production to consumption. Lack of adequate food hygiene can lead to foodborne diseases and death of the consumer. Mishandling of food can occur during food preparation, handling and storage; and studies show that consumers have inadequate knowledge about measures needed to prevent food-borne illness. There are a number of factors which are likely to contribute to outbreaks of food-borne illness in the home, including a raw food supply that may be contaminated, a lack of food safety knowledge among the general public, mistakes in food handling and preparation at home.