Assessing Food Hygiene using the rating System in the eating houses of Makerere- Kikoni, Kampala City

Abstract

Introduction: Foodborne diseases are one of the most wide-spread health problems in the contemporary world and they have implications both on health and development. In 2010, the Food Standards Agency introduced the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) which uses the results from inspections to produce a rating for each of the premises. Study objectives: To assess food hygiene using the food hygiene rating system in the eating houses of Makerere- Kikoni, Kampala city in order to a reduce on the food-borne illnesses. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the aspects of food hygiene using the food hygiene rating system in 28 eating houses of Makerere- Kikoni, Kampala city with the aims of determining the hygienic food handling practices, examining the physical conditions of the structures of food eating houses, and evaluating how the eating houses are managed to ensure food safety. During assessment, each hazard found was given a certain score i.e., if the hazard is a public health hazard, it will score 7 points, critical violation scores 5 points and general violation scores 2 points. This means that the less the score generated by each eating house, the more the level of compliance with recommended standards and vice versa. Results: Out of 28 eating houses that were assessed, majorities were restaurants, 19(67.86%). Most eating houses had poor structural conditions, with the highest unsatisfactory score of 269(27.45%) while most eating houses good management practices having the least unsatisfactory score of 48 (13.19%). 14(50%) of the eating houses were rated good and only 1(3.57%) eating house was rated as requires major improvement. Conclusion: the study revealed that there was poor compliance with structural conditions in most eating houses in Makerere- Kikoni, though majority of them were rated as good.