http://doi.org/10.33698/NRF0043 Jasvir Kaur, Inderjit Walia, Amrjit Singh, Kavita Gauri
Abstract: contaminated food presents one of the most common causes of and major contributor to gastrointestional illness (e.g.acute diarrhea ,nausea ,vomiting and abdominal pain).to alarge extent gastrointestinal illness resulting from food contamination can be prevented if safe food –hygiene practice are followed .the objectives of the stusy were to ascertain food –hygiene practices and gastrointestinal health complaints among arural population of U.T.,Chandigarh and to identify the association between food –hygiene practices and gastrointestinal health complaints. Thestudy was conducted at dhanas village,U.T., Chandigarh durning January and February 2005.a total of 245 familes wer selected by using systematic random sampling technique .respondents were interviewed with regard to food –hygiene practices and gastrointestinal health complaints. results revealed that in 50.2% familes ,respondents said that they or some one in their family had experienced gastrointestinal Health complaints during the past 15 days .abdominal pain(26.2%) was the most common gastrointestinal health complaint .going by statistics ,lack of
hand washing before food handling the kitchen floor daily and lack of tal water supply in the kitchen had been found significantly associated with gastrointestinal health complaints.
Key words : food –hygiene practices , gastrointestinal Health complaints ,association.
Introduction- Food-borne diseases are on an increase Throughout the world today. Serious outbreaks of food- borne diseases have been documented on every continent in the past decades ,illustrating both the public health and social significance of these diseases 1 . the global incidence of food –borne diseases is difficult to estimate ,but it has been reported by WHO that in 2000 alone 2.1 million people died from diarrhoeal diseases 2 . The Developing world suffers from a large number Of illnesses, infant and childhood deaths due to Diarrhoeal diseases, almost always linked to unacceptable standards of foods and water hygiene 3 .contaminated food presents one of the most common causes of and major contributor to gastrointestinal illness (e.g.acute diarrhea,nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain) ,compromised nutritional status and less resistance to disease and loss of productivity in the world today 4 . to a large extent gastrointestinal illness resulting from food contamination can be prevented if safe food –hygiene practices are followed at various stange of food purchase ,storage, preparation and consumption . 5 with the rapid pace of globalization food safety has become an ever increasing public health concern today 2 . Declaration of Alma Ata has considered food Of primary health care 6 .joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food safety ,geneva (1983) pointed out that along with sufficient quality and
adequate nutrient content,food must also be safe for consumption 7 .goverments all over the world are intensifying their efforts to improve food safety 2 .
Materials and methods
A total of 245 families were selected by Using systematic random sampling technique. Data was collected in the months of January And February 2005.tools used for data collection Were interview schedule and observation proforma From each family one male or female who handling And cooking food most of the time was selected as the respondent for the whole family. the respondents were interviewed with regardto socio-demographic data ,food- hygiene practices and gastrointestinal health complaints of their families. observation was made with regard to
personal hygiene of the respondents ,kitchen and refrigerator hygiene .collected. datawasanalyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics
Results
Socioeconomic and demographic profile out of the total 245 respondents,49% were of the age group 21-30 years, majority,(80%) were females and 66.5%of the respondents belonged to Hindu religion.24.1% of the respondents had primary Education ,23.7% had done matriculation while 19.2% were illiterate .majority of the respondents (73.9%) were engaged in house hold work ,64.1% respondents were from nuclear families and about half (48.6%) had per capita income above Rs.1000/- Food Purchase Practices Regarding food purchase practices,238 (97.1%) said that they did not observe for all four qualities (fresh/clean ,not rotten ,not cut/bruised ,not over ripe) while purchasing fruits and vegetables . 227(92.7%) respondents reported that the did not observe for all six qualities eggs were neither soiled and qualities (seal,leakage free,expiry data, FPO/ISI/AGMARK, Dent free,bulge Free lid) while purching canned/botted food items and only 32 (13.1%) respondents While purching eggs,ensured that the egg Were neither soiled and nor cracked while 103(42%) respondents did not observe Both qualities. Food storage & preparation practices Figure 1,2 and 3 describe the practices of out of Respondents on storage of selected food they or someone Item,storage of drinikg water and food Preparation respectively Kitchen hygiene practices Out Of 245 Respondents , 198 (80.9%) Respondents mopped the kitchen floor daily And 29 (11.8%) mopped it less frequently ,whereas 18(7.3%) respondents did not mop the kitchen Floor as it was a kutcha floor .figure 4 and 5 describe The food consumption and hand hygiene practices Of the respondents. There were 44 children between 0-2
year’s Age in 245 families of them ,17(38.6%) were On bottle –feed ,whereas 27(61.4%) were not Taking bottle feed. On observation ,more than 50% Respondents wore unclean clothes ,majority 194 (79.2%) had long nails ,nineteen (7.8%) Respondents were found with infected cuts on Their hands and ninty (36.7%) respondents Had discharge from their ear or nose. Figure 6 described he kitchen hygiene as observed By the investigator Regarding refrigeratorm hygiene the Investigator found that 39 (15.9) had over Filled refrigerators,30 (12.3%) had fungus on The walls/door of their refrigerators ,ninety seven(39.6%) had dirt on the shelves of their refrigerators and majority 103 (42.1%) had
kept raw fruits/vegetables on top or other shelves above other food item Gastrointestinal Health Complaints . 245 families ,in 50.2% families’ respondents reported that health complaints in past 15 days .out of the in their family had experienced gastrointestinal total 286 reported gastrointestinal health complaints ,26.2% were abdominal painfollowed by 17.2% of loose watery stools .vomiting ,abdominal discomfort ,anal itching ,passage of worms in stool, nausea ,abdominal cramps and blood in stool were other gastrointestinal heath complaints among the family
members as reported by the respondents .lack of hand washing before handing food(p<0.05) ,not using hand towels to dry hands in the kitchen (p<0.05), sharing Utensils without washing (p<0.001),not mopping the kitchen floor daily (p<0.05)and lack of tap water in the kitchen (p<0.05) gastrointestinal health complaints.
Discussion
the present study revealed that 97.1%respondents did not look for all four qualities (fresh/clean, not clean, not .Cut/bruised, not over ripe) while purchasing fruits and vegetables .92.7% respondents did not observe all six qualities (seal ,leakage free,expiry data,FPO/ISI/AGMARK ,dent free,bulge free lid) while purching canned/bottled food items.while purching eggs,42% did not look for both unsoiled and uncracked Eggs, 42% did not look for both unsoiled and uncracked eggs. 90.5% respondents reported that they keep the dough covered but on observation it was found that 97.6% their food item uncovered .this finding is in contrast with the observation made by mclennan and spady (santo domingo )1989, where it was reported that 56% of mothers did not cover prepared food durning storage .on observation it was found that 36.4% respondents had over filled fridge,28%had fungus on the walls /door of refrigerator ,9.3% had dirt on the shelves of their fridge.
And majority 96.3% respondents had kept raw fruits/vegetables on other shelves above other food items Present study finding reveal that 88.1% Respondents had covered the container for Storage of drinking water .similer findings have been reported by Mensahetal. 10 But the findings Are in disagreement with kaur and singh . 13 nearly half of the respondents reported using unhygienic method to draw water from the container (put glass into the container ) This percentage is less than that reported By singh et al 4 majority of the respondents (94.5%) used soap/vim/ash to
clean the Drinking water container . 14 this finding But the finding is in disagreement with kaur And singh who reported that 80% cleaned In the present study it was foung that 73.5% respondents did not wash fruits and Vegetables before cutting and 69.8% did wash them under running water (wash in bowl Containing water).li-cohan et al reported that 19% washed fruits and vegetables in a bowl containg water and 4% use detergent . 9 majority of the respondents (95.5%) cut vegetables in a utensil/on board .78.8% respondents said that they did not wash the knife before cutting vegetables and on observation it was found that majority of the respondents (94.7%) had dirty knives .this finding is in agreement with li-cohan et al. 9 majority (91%) respondents had unclean gas/kerosene stove /chullah and water was used again for washing and cleaning utensils by 54% respondents.li-cohan et alalso found inadequately clean kitchen utensils by 54% respondents li-cohan et al also found an inadequately clean kitchen utensils. 9 bansal and kaul reported that serving utensils were dirty. 11 present study indicates that 74.3% and 67.3% respondents did not wash their hands before handing food and before eating respectively. 60.4% did not use hand towel to dry hands in the kitchen .this percentage is higher than that reported by other investigators li-cohan 9 reported that 66% respondents did not wash hands before handling food. 9 Their utensils with mud,60.1% with ash and on observation ,the investigator found 68.1% with both.13 that more than 50% respondents were wearing unclean clother .this finding is in agreement with ghosh et al 12 but in disagreement with mensah et al. 10 majority of the respondents (79.2%) had long nails .the finding is in Not disagreement with mensah et al. 10
conclusion
seventy seven percent of the respondents reported faully food-purchase practices,57.7% reported proper food storage practices,22.6% reported improper water storage practices ,44% reported faulty food preparation practices 58% reported poor hand hygiene practices and 58.8% reported risky food consumption Practices Many respondents (44.3%) had poor Personal hygiene ,61% of the respondents had Poor kitchen hygiene and 27.5% had poor Refrigerator hygiene Almost half of familes (50.2%) reported Gastrointestinal health complaints,and abdominal pain (26.2%) was the most common gastrointestinal Going by statistics ,lack of hand washing Before food handing ,not using hand towel to Dry hands in the kitchen ,sharing utensils Without washing and not mopping the kitchen Floor had been found significantly associated With gastrointestinal health complaints .
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