Food safety risk factors associated with chicken consumption and chicken handling practices in Accra, Ghana

This study was conducted to evaluate the risk factors associated with chicken consumption and chicken handling practices in Accra, Ghana. A questionnaire was used to conduct face-to-face interviews with 470 consumers. Respondents who scored ≥ 70 of the maximum possible score were categorized as having good food safety practices. Respondents generally had poor food safety practices with a mean score of 19.50 ± 4.11 (1.9%). Significant food safety gaps identified include packaging freshly dressed chicken meat with other grocery items in the same bag and storing fresh chicken meat on upper shelves of refrigerators. The majority (89.3%) of respondents reported washing fresh chicken before cooking. Respondent's level of education (P-value=0.009) and income (P-value=0.012) were significantly associated with their food safety practice score. The results show that there is a need to educate consumers on safe chicken handling practices through proper labelling warnings, and community food safety training programs.