The sanitary conditions of public food and drink establishments in the district town of Zeway, Southern Ethiopia.

Abstract

Background: The magnitude of the sanitary conditions of food and drink establishments in urban centres of Ethiopia is very limited and unknown in most cases. Objective: To assess the sanitary-hygienic conditions of public catering establishments in the district town of Zeway, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in all existing food and drink establishments (n=147). Local informal catering establishments were considerably high in town with the ratio of about 1:1 to that of formal sectors. A piped water supply was found in all establishments. About 59% of the establishments had some kind of human waste management means, dry pit latrine being the most common. Liquid waste and refuse management were found to be grossly inadequate in 73.5% and 81% of establishments, respectively. Some kind of acceptable type of clients' hand washing, soiled dish and glass washing facilities were found in 29.9%, 66.6%, and 72.8% of establishments, respectively. Food handlers in 14.8% of establishments had some form of active skin and respiratory infections. The personal hygiene of food handlers in most establishments was very poor and that only 21.65% of them had acceptable type of over coats used while working. Glass washing facilities, latrine availability, and water source type are strongly associated with the presence of licence, OR=10.62 (3.66, 37.09), OR=23.80 (8.72, 67.8), OR=183.42 (37.78, 1632.28), respectively. Conclusion and Recommendation: The poor sanitary conditions of food and drink establishments favours the transmission of food borne communicable diseases. A public intervention towards the improvement of these establishments is highly recommended.