Consumer awareness of food adulteration in the Ghanaian hospitality industry a case of food consumers within the Kumasi metropolis

Abstract

Even though food becomes a key source of nutrients to humans nonetheless, its consumption when adulterated can lead to varied forms of diseases and infections. Generally, a highly nutritious meal can become unwholesome when its preparation, transportation and selling becomes adulterated. This study assessed the knowledge and perception of customers on food adulteration within the Kumasi Metropolis. The specific objectives were; to assess consumer level of awareness on food adulteration, to assess consumer level of knowledge and awareness on the health effect of food adulteration, to identify the commonest forms of food adulterations and their related adulterants among consumer and finally to identify the factors that predict consumers level of awareness towards food adulteration. The study population constituted consumers who purchased their foods from local and continental restaurants, food vendor, food from corner food shops and chop bars facilities within the Kumasi Metropolis. The study employed a cross-sectional design hence, distributed a total of 245 questionnaires to the selected participants within the Kumasi Metropolis. The study used the Statistical Package for Social Scientists to compute the descriptive and inferential analysis on the field data. Findings from the study suggest that the respondents’ knowledge and awareness on food adulteration were above average with most of the respondents having a fair knowledge with regards to how food adulteration occurred, the adulterants used to adulterate certain kinds of foods and the foods that are often susceptible to food adulteration. Also, findings from the study suggest that the respondents had fair knowledge about the health implication associated with the consumption of adulterated food. Again, among all the factors that improved a consumer level of awareness on food adulteration the availability of information (i.e. making food adulteration information readily available to the public) had the most significant impact on consumer level of awareness towards food adulteration. On this point, it is recommended to the Public Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service to have designated centres at the various local communities that can make information readily available to local indigenes on the dangers of food adulteration since its accessibility can improved the consumers awareness on food adulteration.