FOOD SAFETY AND AWARENESS OF FISH FARMERS AND CONSUMERS ON ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUES IN CULTURED FISHES IN OYO STATE

This study, which was conducted in Oyo State, Nigeria, focuses on evaluating the food safety and awareness of fish farmers and consumers regarding antibiotic residues in cultured fishes. Data were obtained from 100 fish farmers and 100 fish consumers using a well-structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (including mean, median, standard deviation, percentages, and range) and multinomial logit regression model. Results reveal that 95.0% of fish farmers were male, with an average age of 35 years, 81.0 % were predominantly married, and 98.0% had at least primary education. A significant proportion (90.0%) of farmers used antibiotics, with tetracycline (72.0%) being the most common. Among these farmers, 72.0% had a moderate awareness of antibiotic residues while 28.0% had either high (14.0%) or low (14.0%) levels of awareness. Factors influencing level of awareness among fish farmers included training on fish farming, age, and education level. The coefficients of age of farmers, farmers having secondary education, farmers having tertiary education and farmers attending training on fish farming are positive and significant at 10%, 1% and 5% respectively. Among fish consumers, 56.0% were female, with an average age and monthly spending on fish of 41 years and ₦30,685 respectively. Results also reveal that 69.0% of consumers had moderate awareness of antibiotic residues, while 31.0% had low (20.0%) or high (11.0%) awareness levels. Factors affecting consumer awareness included marital status and household size, the coefficient of marital status was positive and significant at 10.0%. The coefficient of household size was negative and significant at 10.0% and the coefficient of ever heard of antibiotic residues was negative and significant at 1%.The study concluded that both fish farmers and consumers exhibited a moderate level of awareness about antibiotic residues. The study recommended that there is a need for comprehensive training programs and stricter regulatory measures to enhance awareness and ensure food safety in the fish farming industry.