The purpose of this study was to assess the status of food hygiene and food safety issues andrnpractices in some selected hospitals in Addis Ababa- Ethiopia and provide a baseline data forrnimplementing HACCP in hospital food services. In addition, knowledge and practice of foodrnhandlers with regard to food hygiene in hospitals was assessed, gaps in hospital food safety andrnhygiene was identified and microbial analysis of food was conducted.rnThe assessment and observation checklist for comparing standards of GHP and GKP hasrnuncovered some gaps regarding the status of the premises, status and storage of equipments,rnsome aspects of personal hygiene and sanitation and pest control. The common unsatisfactoryrnscores include having unclean floors, walls and ceilings, insect infestation and poor ventilation,rnpoor storage of utensils, not using appropriate tools by food handlers, improper covering ofrnrefuse receptacle and absence of a hand wash basins near the toilets.rnThe questionnaire based assessment has provided insight into inadequacies in the general foodrnservice staff knowledge with regard to food hygiene principles as 86.8% were not aware of therncorrect refrigerator temperature, 78.9% of them thought that chilling and freezing eliminatesrnharmful germs in food. In addition to that, 71.1% of them were unaware of the best way to washrnfresh fruits and vegetables to keep them free from food poisoning microorganisms. On the otherrnhand, better results were obtained for self-reported food hygiene practices and control measures.rnHigh scores were obtained for knowledge about food related microorganisms such as Vibriorncholera (89.5%), Salmonella (97.4%) and Hepatitis A (60.5%). Knowledge of C.botulinum andrnS.aureus was absent.rnA total of 45 samples (15 meat, 15 vegetable and 15 legume based sauces) were analyzed for Aerobic colony count, total coliforms, E. coli type I and CNS. Data from the microbiological analysis show that most of the samples were within the good/acceptable range but the incidence of fecal coliforms and E.coli indicate a poor food handling practice and/or cross-contaminationrnduring distribution or in the kitchen.A HACCP system has not been implemented in any of the studied hospitals and in view of the findings of this study it can be underlined the importance of a full implementation of the system