Abstract Background: A lack of basic infrastructure and a low level of knowledge of hygiene and sanitary practices in catering establishments provide to outbreaks of food-borne diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the sanitary conditions of food and drink establishments in Woldia town, Northeastern Ethiopia. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from January to June 2016. Two hundred and eight food and drink establishments were included through a systematic, simple, random selection method after a list of all the establishments was found from the town Trade and Industry Office. Trained enumerators use structured and pre-tested questionnaires to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 20). P <0.05 was considered to indicate statistical association. Results: Of the 208 food and drink establishments, 69% were involved in more than one type of food and drink service. Forty-eight (23%) of the establishments were not licensed. About 88% of the establishments have access to privately owned water pipes. The majority (81.3%) of the establishments had latrine facilities, and 63.5% and 84.6% disposed of their liquid waste and solid waste into open areas, respectively. Acceptable facilities for clients to wash their hands, and for kitchen staff to wash dishes and glasses, were found in 20.6%, 21.6% and 1.7% of establishments, respectively. The storage of food utensils (OR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.25-3.12), the storage of ready-to eat foods (OR = 2.94; 95% CI: 1.06-3.45) and cleanliness of food handlers’ gowns (OR = 2.02; 95% CI: 1.11- 3.05) were better in establishments that were inspected (at least once in the past 6 months) by concerned bodies, compared to establishments that were not inspected. Conclusions and recommendations: We found that most of the establishments had low level of sanitary conditions. The main problems were the poor state of repair of kitchen and dining room floors; insufficient solid and liquid waste management; the lack of latrine facilities and poor latrine management; the lack of acceptable types of facilities for clients to wash their hands, and for kitchen staff to wash dishes and glasses. Food establishments that were checked frequently by regulatory authorities had good sanitary practices compared to non-inspected establishments. Regulatory bodies should conduct frequent inspection visits of food and drink establishments to encourage and assure good sanitation practices.

Mekonnin Tesfa

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