ANALYSIS OF THE HYGIENIC CONDITION OF CANTEEN FOOD SERVICES IN HO POLYTECHNIC
ABSTRACT
Ghana like many other developing countries is struggling with the means of providing a comprehensive solution to bad health as a result of bad eating conditions and habits. The current system of ensuring sanitation in the food served in the canteen, restaurant and chop bars has proven woefully inadequate for the objectives circumspect. Places where better foods in the Ghanaian context are served in a hygienic condition are very expensive to customers, hence majority of the community preferred to eat their own cooked food. The primary objective of the study is to identify and evaluate the significant difference in the food bought by students, lectures and non-lecturers and also to determine the significant difference between factors which influence the community to eat from the canteen. A well structured questionnaire was administered using accidental sampling after clustering sampling procedure; the main statistical tool used in the analysis is the Kruskal-wallis non-parametric test statistics. Research findings from in-depth responses indicated that food preferred by the population (students, non-lecturers and lecturers) are different. The result also indicates that there are differences in the factors that influence the population (students, lecturers and non-lecturers) from eating from the canteen. The researcher recommends that; management should extend their operation to night, weekends and night service. It should also concentrate on the nutritional level as well as the hygienic condition of the canteen, since it is of keen interest to the customers. The researcher recommends that management should give least attention to fat containing meal since it is of no interest to customers
Finally management should conduct a research to determine which categories of the population are the major customers and to serve them better.
CHAPTER ONEBACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.
Canteen services started way back in the 18th century, food and snacks are served as to the taste of the client. It may be seen as a place in the military, factory, camp, school, etc. where people may buy food, drinks, sweets, etc to eat. As advancement has set in, more services are rendered aside from the normal buying and selling of food in modern canteens.According to the Ministry of Health annual report, 75% of sicknesses admitted in the hospital are results of unhealthy food (MOH 2007), the majority of which are food services in the canteen all over the country. It suggests that eating from canteens without basic health consideration is like signing your own death warrant.Health often said is wealth, we should pay critical attention to the food we eat and the environmental condition under which we eat if only we want to create wealth. Nowadays, children are becoming far more overweight in suburban schools, and on a personal view, the school's canteens are a definite place to blame. If you look at an average school canteen, there is no respect for the weight of the child or no help for providing the healthier option; it is all about making money to fund a business. Ways of making the canteen healthier will be discussed and the worst offenders to canteen obesity. Canteens are terrible; people line up with their money, walk in, and buy whatever food they want. There is no mother in their ear saying to purchase a healthier option; there is just a child who wants to walk in and purchase the best tasting and in most cases fattiest options. As a personal view, to reduce problems like obesity people who have the power to should try and bring in healthier options, and encourage kids to eat them. There are endless possibilities to making canteens healthier, you can just ban unhealthy food, you can make it super expensive so know the child can afford it or want to buy it, or you can just ban the canteen in general. But unfortunately, these options won’t work because as much as people want to get rid of obesity in children you have to think of the people who work at the canteen, as it is their job. A more productive way of improving canteens is having both options for healthy and the bad but making the healthy items appeal more to people. Or from a different approach, you can have the unhealthy food but make it smaller in amounts, so you will be having less unhealthy foods, and then the students will be reduced to no choice but to buy healthy food or accept their own homemade meals, where the parents can control the healthiness of their children
PROBLEM STATEMENT.It is without a doubt that many Ghanaians students one way or the other eat food from a canteen and food cooked in their home as well. In the tertiary institution as Ho polytechnic, canteen services serve food ranging from breakfast to supper to snacks, special meals are also served to customers.Ghana like most developing countries; is struggling with the means to provide comprehensive solutions to bad health as a result of bad eating conditions. The current system of ensuring sanitation in the food served in the canteen, restaurant, chop bars, etc. has proven woefully inadequate for the objectives circumspectPlaces, where better food in the Ghanaian context is served in a hygienic condition, are very expensive to customers, hence the majority of students, lecturers, and non-lecturers in the universities, polytechnics, and colleges are unable to afford it. In this regard eating food cook by oneself has proven to be more beneficial in taste, cost, health, preferences, etc.Consequently, many students in the colleges, polytechnics, and universities preferred preparing their own food. These have been easy due to the increasing supply of gas cylinders and burners. These gadgets are fast and convenient in the cooking and quite affordable.Many canteens are subsequently getting out of business because they lack modern facilities; there is no better furniture, sometimes food is served in the open air with flies all around. As the existing ones are weeping for customers, others all about joining the search for customers. This is one way has drastically changed the canteen service. In spite of this, some customers complain bitterly of being served a leftover meal on regular basis.The government through the school feeding programme is advocating on serving a better meal to children for massive nourishment but, this programme covered only primary education which is even a pilot project. However, the senior high school boarding house students repeatedly complain of the rotten meals.Whiles lecturers and non-lecturers (believed to have money) drive extensively to far distant to enjoy good meals from expensive and luxurious canteens; the less privilege who were believed to be student tends to eat anything money can buy. This has bedeviled the canteen service in all institutions; the basic even to the tertiary institutions.
OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH. To determine whether there are any significant differences in the food bought by students, lecturers, and non-lecturers. To determine whether there are any significant differences in the factors which influence the population to eat from the school canteen.
HYPOTHESISNull hypothesis: there is no difference between all k populations.Alternative hypothesis: there is at least a difference in two of the k populations.Mathematically;H0: K1= K2= K3= 0Hı: Ki≠ 0; where ί=1, 2 and 3Where ki =students lecturers, and non-lecturers.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.The study will bring us afore insight into the importance of a hygienic condition and the best food to be served. The research will bring to light the socio-economic benefits of better feeding. The researches will additionally increase knowledge in both condition of service and the type of food to be served.The analysis of this project will provide vital information that will be useful to the government in policy and in decision making specific to the Ministry of Health (MOH) which is directly responsible for the provision of public health services delivery in terms of policy formulation, monitory and appraisal regulation of the health services.This study will also provide useful information on the popular perceptions regarding the food bought by lecturers, non-lecturers, and students.Furthermore, the study will be useful to groups or organizations currently working in Ghana and other developing countries in developing national policies on the evaluation and regulation of food hygiene and proper eating habits in promoting safe, effective, and affordable products to all citizens.Finally, the research seeks to educate and give possible suggestions to the people on food and other health-related issues.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDYThe primary aims of these researches are to analyze and evaluate the conditions under which food is served and the time it is served and to find out whether there is any significant difference in the food bought by students, non-lecturers, and lecturers,
SCOPE OF THE STUDYThis research is carried out in the Ho polytechnic community. It takes into consideration a reasonable number of students, lecturers, and non-lecturers who one way or the other have ever used the service of a canteen more specifically the Ho polytechnic school canteen.
DELIMITATION OF THE STUDYIn the entire ten polytechnics in the country, the services of the canteen cannot be overlooked by the student, non-lecturers, and lecturers population; however, this study was limited to only a school in the Volta region (Ho poly). Also, the research is an observational study; this is the key focus of experimental study that has been ignored.
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