Knowledge, Attitudes, and Food Safety Practices of Informal Market Maize Grain Vendors and Consumers in Meru County, Kenya.

Aflatoxin contamination in food poses a significant health risk, especially in low‐ and middle‐income nations. While there is a need to increase food safety, there is a lack of aflatoxin‐related sociodemographic factors, knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) among aflatoxin‐risk populations. The study is aimed at collecting information from the vendors and consumers of maize grains to investigate their sociodemographic factors and KAPs of aflatoxin contaminations in Kenya's small‐ and medium‐sized informal markets. A cross‐sectional survey using a simple random sampling approach was conducted from July 2022 to August 2022 in Meru County, Kenya. Vendors and consumers of maize grain markets were interviewed using face‐to‐face interviews and semistructured questionnaires. Females were the predominant gender among the maize grain vendor (82.7%) and consumer (83.72%) participants. Most vendors (95.7%) and consumers (94.2%) have formal education. Almost all vendors (96.2%) and consumers (95.3%) check for maize selling and purchasing quality. The proportion of visibly mouldy grains (25.5%, 29.0%), moisture level (20.2%, 12.9%), and size of grains (11.4%, 14.8%) were the commonest quality dimensions checked by vendors and consumers, respectively. Most vendors (86.8%) and consumers (70.9%) have heard about aflatoxin, but only 48.2% of the vendors and 52.1% of the consumers were aware and could mention the correct aflatoxin health effects. Vendors' and consumers' KAPs on aflatoxin varied significantly (p < 0.05) across subcounties, education levels, genders, and ages. Promoting public awareness, building capacity, and implementing aflatoxin‐related policies at all levels are crucial to ensure food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]