Assessment of Knowledge on the Hygiene Practices of Actors in the Sector of “Dèguè”, a Milk-Based Foodstuff Produced and Consumed in Togo: Case of the Municipality of Agoè-Nyivé 1

Abstract

“Dèguè” is mixture of fermented milk, millet or durum wheat couscous and sugar, which is one of the foods well appreciated in Togo. This study was carried out in view to contribute to the valuation of this milk-based foodstuff produced and consumed in Togo for consumer health safety. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study with an analytical aim, the survey of which took place from April 3 to June 30, 2023 in the municipality of Agoè-Nyivé 1 of the Autonomous District of Greater Lomé. In total, 70 "Dèguè" vendors were surveyed on their level of knowledge of good hygiene practices. The KoboCollect, Epi-info version 7.2. and Excel 2013 softwares allowed the collection and statistical processing of the data. The survey showed a predominance of women (80%) among sellers. They were between 15 and 50 years old with an average age of 30 ± 8.35. Respectively 45% and 36% of sellers declared having received training on Good Hygiene Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices. Only 35.71% of sellers have a good level of knowledge on hygiene practices and among them 48.00% have a secondary level compared to 28.00% with a higher level. Considering the age group, the Chi square test showed that there is no significant difference between the level of knowledge on hygiene practices and the age group (p > 0.05). The results of this study show the need to raise awareness among all the actors involved in the "Dèguè" sector in the municipality of Agoè-Nyivé 1 for an improvement in hygiene and manufacturing practices.