Determinants of Household-Level Food Storage Practices and Outcomes on Food Safety and Security in Accra, Ghana
Household-level food storage can help families save money, minimize food waste, and enhance food safety and security. Storing food within households may, however, be affected by domestic routines, like food shopping and cooking. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate how consumers’ attitudes and beh...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/20/3266 |
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| author | Ebenezer Afriyie Franz Gatzweiler Monika Zurek Freda E. Asem John K. Ahiakpa Bernard Okpattah Emmanuel K. Aidoo Yong-Guan Zhu |
| author_facet | Ebenezer Afriyie Franz Gatzweiler Monika Zurek Freda E. Asem John K. Ahiakpa Bernard Okpattah Emmanuel K. Aidoo Yong-Guan Zhu |
| author_sort | Ebenezer Afriyie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Household-level food storage can help families save money, minimize food waste, and enhance food safety and security. Storing food within households may, however, be affected by domestic routines, like food shopping and cooking. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate how consumers’ attitudes and behaviors influence food storage at the household level. This study aimed to assess the determinants of household-level food storage, ascertain consumers’ behavior and perception towards food storage, and assess the effect of household-level food storage on food safety, wastage, food expenditure and security. Dzorwulu and Jamestown, both located in Accra, Ghana, served as the study’s primary sites. The study employed a survey and structural equation modeling to evaluate key determinants of household-level food storage practices and their impacts. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 400 food household heads, sampled using a systematic sampling procedure. The results showed that food shopping drives food storage. There was, however, significant negative association (p < 0.001) between food shopping and time of food storage. Although cooking impedes household-level food storage, there was significant positive association (p < 0.001) between frequency of cooking and storage period of food commodities. The findings also revealed that household-level food storage promotes food safety, reduces food expenditure and waste, and contributes to enhancing food security by 43%. To promote household-level food storage and ensure food safety and security, future study should concentrate on enhancing conventional household-level food storage practices that are efficient, cheaper and easily implementable. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:39:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-adef2a9bc5584706888661ed565757d4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:39:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-adef2a9bc5584706888661ed565757d42023-12-03T14:43:57ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582022-10-011120326610.3390/foods11203266Determinants of Household-Level Food Storage Practices and Outcomes on Food Safety and Security in Accra, GhanaEbenezer Afriyie0Franz Gatzweiler1Monika Zurek2Freda E. Asem3John K. Ahiakpa4Bernard Okpattah5Emmanuel K. Aidoo6Yong-Guan Zhu7Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, ChinaInstitute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, ChinaEnvironmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UKUniversity of Ghana, Legon P.O. Box LG 25, Accra, GhanaResearch Desk Consulting Limited, Kwabenya P.O. Box WY 2918, Accra, GhanaAsinyo Agri-Commerce Ltd., Cantonments P.O. Box CT 9823, Accra, GhanaUniversity of Ghana, Legon P.O. Box LG 25, Accra, GhanaInstitute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, ChinaHousehold-level food storage can help families save money, minimize food waste, and enhance food safety and security. Storing food within households may, however, be affected by domestic routines, like food shopping and cooking. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate how consumers’ attitudes and behaviors influence food storage at the household level. This study aimed to assess the determinants of household-level food storage, ascertain consumers’ behavior and perception towards food storage, and assess the effect of household-level food storage on food safety, wastage, food expenditure and security. Dzorwulu and Jamestown, both located in Accra, Ghana, served as the study’s primary sites. The study employed a survey and structural equation modeling to evaluate key determinants of household-level food storage practices and their impacts. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 400 food household heads, sampled using a systematic sampling procedure. The results showed that food shopping drives food storage. There was, however, significant negative association (p < 0.001) between food shopping and time of food storage. Although cooking impedes household-level food storage, there was significant positive association (p < 0.001) between frequency of cooking and storage period of food commodities. The findings also revealed that household-level food storage promotes food safety, reduces food expenditure and waste, and contributes to enhancing food security by 43%. To promote household-level food storage and ensure food safety and security, future study should concentrate on enhancing conventional household-level food storage practices that are efficient, cheaper and easily implementable.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/20/3266food storagefood wastefood shoppingfood commodityGhanafood security |
| spellingShingle | Ebenezer Afriyie Franz Gatzweiler Monika Zurek Freda E. Asem John K. Ahiakpa Bernard Okpattah Emmanuel K. Aidoo Yong-Guan Zhu Determinants of Household-Level Food Storage Practices and Outcomes on Food Safety and Security in Accra, Ghana Foods food storage food waste food shopping food commodity Ghana food security |
| title | Determinants of Household-Level Food Storage Practices and Outcomes on Food Safety and Security in Accra, Ghana |
| title_full | Determinants of Household-Level Food Storage Practices and Outcomes on Food Safety and Security in Accra, Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Determinants of Household-Level Food Storage Practices and Outcomes on Food Safety and Security in Accra, Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determinants of Household-Level Food Storage Practices and Outcomes on Food Safety and Security in Accra, Ghana |
| title_short | Determinants of Household-Level Food Storage Practices and Outcomes on Food Safety and Security in Accra, Ghana |
| title_sort | determinants of household level food storage practices and outcomes on food safety and security in accra ghana |
| topic | food storage food waste food shopping food commodity Ghana food security |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/11/20/3266 |
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