Food Hygiene Practices at the Ghana School Feeding Programme in Wa and Cape Coast Cities

Objective. The integrity and the wholesomeness of the food served to school pupils cannot be overlooked, especially when one considers the magnitude of health and sanitation issues that are plaguing the West African nations. This study aimed to investigate some of the personal hygiene practices by the pupils and the hygienic conditions in which food is cooked and served to these school-going children under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP). Design. A cross-sectional and descriptive survey research designs were used in the study. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were employed in selecting participants. Participants. There were 720 respondents for the study, comprising 600 pupils, 60 teachers, and 60 kitchen staff members from 20 schools. Information was obtained using questionnaire, observation, and unstructured interview instruments. Results. Findings from the study revealed that the majority of pupils (92% in Wa and 65% in Cape Coast) did not wash their hands with soap under running water. No hand washing centers for pupils were also seen in most of the schools studied. Majority of the cooks did not have health certificate, and neither had attended any in-service training in two years. In both Wa and Cape Coast municipal schools, none of the kitchen staff admitted that pupils and teachers ever complained about the meals they served to the pupils. Conclusion. The GSFP in basic schools forms part of the integral diet of the school children; hence, provision of good quality food can affect the health, learning, and physical activities of these children. Observational checklist revealed that most of the kitchen staff do not strictly adhere to basic food hygiene practices, and this affects the wholesomeness of the food served to the children. There is, therefore, a need for kitchen staff training on hygiene and food preparation practices

Quality attributes of fufu: Instrumental and sensory measurement

Texture is one of the key desirable sensory attributes of fufu, a cassava-based staple of most Ghanaians. Cassava starch and plantain puree were blended in the ratios of 20:80, 25:75, 30:70, 35:65, and 40:60, respectively. To optimize the processing parameters for cassava starch-plantain puree fufu, the texture attributes of the reconstituted fufu were assessed and characterized using instrumental and sensory methods and compared with “Neat” fufu. The result of the instrumental test on texture showed that fufu samples with 20% cassava starch and 80% plantain puree are most desirable while the percentage of starch between 25 and 40% gave higher values which indicated hardness. Overall, the starch content did not have any significant effect on adhesiveness, smoothness and springiness of the fufu. The sensory analysis showed that 22 out of 30 assessors prefer fufu made from plantain puree and cassava starch in terms of softness and smoothness despite the browning nature of the fufu. In general, plantain puree-cassava starch fufu had high values for peak viscosity, final viscosity, setback, peak time and peak temperature than “Neat” fufu. These findings suggest the need to improve upon the colour of plantain puree in fufu preparation for total acceptability by consumers. Keywords: Plantain puree, Cassava starch, Texture, Colour, Preference, Pasting propertie