ISSN: 2574-2701
Authors: Kadam NM, Djibrine MA*, Hissein AO, Beral VM, Rirabe M, Bame W, Tadio S, Savadogo A and Tidjani A
School feeding is a main feature of schools in every country around the world. This activity constitutes an essential nutritional source for the health, development and academic performance of schoolchildren. However, when hygiene rules are not respected during handling, the quality of the food offered is greatly compromised. The objective of this work was to define the main characteristics of the sellers, the types of food sold as well as the sales environment. From June 2021 to May 2022, twentytwo (22) schools in all categories (public and private) were targeted for the surveys. In total, 101 food sellers, 57 schoolchildren and 22 teachers were interviewed during the study period. The overall proportions of female sellers and married sellers were 90.10% and 61.39%, respectively (p < 0.001). Local Arabic was the language of communication for 73.27% of sellers. The vast majority of respondents (85.15%) had not received any training in good hygiene and manufacturing practices. The vast majority of respondents (85.15%) had not received any training in good hygiene and manufacturing practices. The most consumed foods were those prepared from cereals (36%) and fruits (31%). Furthermore, 51.49% of sellers displayed their food in the open air and 47.52% displayed it under trees. The fact that the lack of training of sellers on good hygiene and manufacturing practices, and the exposure of food to the open air by the majority of sellers constitute dangers for consumers. In light of these worrying shortcomings, the corrective approach should integrate training and awareness raising for stakeholders in order to raise the level of understanding of the risks.
Keywords: School Feeding; Sellers; Hygiene; Environment; N’Djamena; Chad
