The Conceptualisation and Evaluation of a Food Safety Training Programme for Street Food Vendors

The purpose of this research was to design and evaluate a tailored food safety training programme for street food vendors in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. A one-group pre-/post-test quasi-experimental design was used. Forty-two vendors with at least five years’ experience and no prior formal food safety training completed a three-day face-to-face programme (5–7 December, 2022). The curriculum, guided by the Health Belief Model and the WHO Five Keys to Safer Food, covered personal hygiene, food hygiene, cross-contamination, temperature control, microbial hazards, foodborne diseases, and facility sanitation. Knowledge was assessed using a validated questionnaire. Pre- and post-training scores were compared using paired statistical tests based on diagnostic checks (paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Most street food vendors were female (90.5%), over 35 years old (90.5%), predominantly unmarried (71.4%), and mainly had primary education (71.4%), with none having prior food safety training or formal qualifications. The majority (76.2%) had more than 11 years of vending experience. Post-training results showed statistically significant improvements across all knowledge domains: personal hygiene, food hygiene, temperature control, and foodborne disease awareness (p < 0.001). Both parametric and non-parametric analyses confirmed large effect sizes, indicating substantial learning gains. Pre-training scores were clustered at low levels, whereas post-training scores were higher and more widely distributed. All participants demonstrated improved competency, confirming the strong positive impact of the training intervention. This study confirms that street food vendors lacked formal food safety training and demonstrated low baseline knowledge, particularly in critical areas such as temperature control, posing notable public health risks. The interactive, context-specific training programme significantly improved knowledge across all domains, with median scores increasing markedly from 1.0 to 10.0. Despite variations in individual gains influenced by socio-demographic factors, overall food safety competency improved substantially. Scaling up the programme and integrating it into licensing requirements, using literacy-sensitive and tiered approaches, would enhance sustainability and inclusivity. Provision of essential infrastructure and ongoing monitoring, refresher training, and multi-stakeholder collaboration are crucial to sustain behavioural change and ensure long-term public health impact. Key words: Health Belief Model, street food vendors, food safety training