98 percent of salads in Ghana served by street food vendors are contaminated with Escherichia Coli bacteria which spreads through fecal contamination and causes food poisoning, according to a report by myjoyonline.
90 percent of salad sampled in Accra, Ghana did not meet the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) food safety standards.
Less contaminated salad was found in restaurants with valid hygiene certificate, though 60 percent of salads sold at these restaurants were also unsatisfactory for consumption based on the FDA food safety standards
The research by a team of international scientists was undertaken separate exercises in Accra between September and December 2012 as well as June to August 2013
For regulators, the research team recommends intensified hygiene inspection and monitoring, certification and training of vendors on food hygiene practices.
Ghanaian vendors’ consumers have been directed to buy from traders that adhere to hygienic practices.
The level of contamination of street food was even more than contamination of raw produce directly irrigated with wastewater such as drain water.