Consumer Awareness of Food Hygiene Practices Among Fast Food Vendors in the University of Ilorin

ABSTRACT
This study assessed the level of consumer awareness on food hygiene practices among fast food vendors within the University of Ilorin. With the increasing reliance on fast food outlets by students and staff, ensuring hygienic practices in food handling has become a critical public health concern. Four research questions were raised, and four hypotheses were tested to validate assumptions. The study adopted a descriptive survey design, using a population of 13,816 undergraduate students from three faculties selected with stratified random sampling techniques. Proportionate sampling technique was used to select 214 students, which represents 5% of each department within each selected faculty. The instrument used for data collection is a structured e-questionnaire tagged “Consumers Awareness of Food Hygiene Practices among Fast Food Vendors (CAFHPFFV)” with reliability coefficient of 0.777. The findings revealed that majority of the respondents were female, aged 18–25. Findings showed a high level of awareness among consumers regarding food hygiene practices. Mean ratings further indicated agreement on key indicators of awareness, such as the belief that food vendors should be trained in hygiene before operating (M = 4.84, SD = 1.64), and the recognition that environmental hygiene is closely related to food safety (M = 4.85, SD = 1.88). Influencing factors such as education (M = 4.22), age (M = 4.38), and exposure to social media (M = 4.37) were also found to significantly affect awareness levels. However, respondents strongly disagreed with statements suggesting compliance with hygiene practices by vendors. For example, the mean score for the cleanliness of vendor surroundings was low (M = 2.37, SD = 1.08), and personal hygiene practices such as wearing clean uniforms scored similarly low (M = 2.14, SD = 1.07). These results highlight a gap between awareness and perceived vendor behaviour. Hypothesis testing using ANOVA and Pearson correlation revealed significant relationships between consumer awareness and hygiene practices (F = 2.795, p = 0.027), as well as between awareness of environmental hygiene and actual hygiene practices (r = 0.640, p = 0.001). These findings suggest that although awareness is high, actual vendor compliance remains inadequate. The study concludes that increasing awareness alone is insufficient to ensure food safety; institutional monitoring, vendor training, and strict hygiene enforcement are urgently required. The research contributes to existing knowledge by providing evidence-based insights into food hygiene behaviour in a Nigerian university setting and recommends further studies across multiple institutions and contexts.