Determinants of food safety behaviour among food vendors: the case of Nigeria

Purpose To investigate the relationship between food safety knowledge, food safety attitudes, the accessibility of sanitation facilities, perceived economic and social constraints and food safety practices among food vendors of higher institutions of learning in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach A purposive sampling method was used to select 6 out of 13 public higher institutions of learning in the state and a random sampling method was used in selecting 181 food vendors from the list of 342 food vendors in the 6 institutions. Face-to-face survey interviews were carried out between June-September 2018 completing a structured questionnaire. Findings The result of the structural equation model revealed that food safety knowledge, food safety attitudes and economic and social control affected the food safety behaviour of the food vendors. Inaccessibility to sanitation facilities affected food safety behaviour negatively. Practical implications Appropriate measures to improve the food safety behaviour of food vendors in higher institutions of learning could include, for example, food safety training that could increase food safety knowledge and awareness, as well as improved access to sanitation facilities at vending sites. Originality/value There is no previous study that investigates the relationship between food safety knowledge, food safety attitudes, social and economic constraints, access to sanitation facilities and the food safety behaviour of food vendors in higher educational institutions in Nigeria.