Food Safety Practices and Stunting among School-Age Children—An Observational Study Finding from an Urban Slum of Bangladesh

Kazi Istiaque Sanin, Ahshanul Haque, Baitun Nahar, Mustafa Mahfuz, Mansura Khanam and Tahmeed Ahmed
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Kazi Istiaque Sanin: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Ahshanul Haque: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Baitun Nahar: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Mustafa Mahfuz: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Mansura Khanam: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Tahmeed Ahmed: Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Food safety incorporates the handling, preparation, and storage of food materials in ways that prevent foodborne illness. We aimed to investigate the typical food safety practices in a Bangladeshi slum context and to explore if stunting among school-age children was associated with various components of food safety. Method: We analysed the MAL-ED birth cohort data from the Bangladesh site. A total of 265 healthy children were enrolled in the study; we could follow up and collect food safety-related data from 187 participants. Results: The average age of the children was 6.5 years (standard deviation or SD 0.04) and 49% of them were female. About 26% of the children were stunted. In our bivariate analysis, caregivers’ handwashing practice after using the toilet, treatment of drinking water, presence of insects/pests in the cooking area, and child’s eating ready-made/street food more than three times per day were significantly associated with stunting. After adjusting for pertinent factors, treatment of drinking water (adjusted odds ratio or AOR = 2.50, 95% confidence interval or CI: 1.03, 6.05), and child’s eating ready-made/street food more than three times/day (AOR = 2.34, 95%CI: 1.06, 5.15) remained significantly associated with stunting. Conclusions: Diverse aspects of food safety practices have a substantial association with stunting among school-age children living in an unhygienic slum environment in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Keywords: food safety; stunting; school-age children; Bangladeshi slum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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