In Mekelle town the number of catering establishments is increasing from time to time likernother towns of the country. Different efforts are undergoing to prevent and/or avoid thernincidence of foodborne diseases that can arise from food service establishments. However, thernsanitary condition is not known since no systematic study was carried out to assess therncondition. Thus, this study was designed to determine the sanitary conditions of mass cateringrnestablishments in Mekelle town.rnA cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2004 to January 2005. A census wasrnemployed to obtain the list of catering establishments. Four hundred twenty two (422)rnestablishments were recruited for the study from the total 546 establishments by simplernrandom selection technique. Standardized and structured questionnaire was used to gatherrninformation. Bacteriological examination of food utensils from randomly selected 88rnestablishments was made. Standard swab sample collection and laboratory procedures werernemployed. Epi Info version 6 was implemented for data management.rnThe findings of the study showed that 91% of the establishments have license, 65.7% werernfound operating their business in rented buildings and 83.8% of the managers/owners werernliterate. Sixty two percent of the floor and 54.4% of the walls and ceilings of the kitchensrnwere found in good repair condition. Toilet, hand washing lavatories, proper solid wasternreceptacles and privately owned tap water supply were available in 96.9%, 57.1%, 39.2% andrn93.6% of thernestablishments, respectively. Ineffective dish washing practice, improper food stuff and foodrnutensil storage, poor personal hygiene and food handling practices of food handlers were alsornthe major deficiencies observed. Of all the bacteriological tested, 44.3% were found withrnvrnaerobic mesophilic bacteria above the acceptable level (>100 colonies/utensil) and 45.5%rnwere grossly contaminated (> 50 fecal coliform/100ml). Staphylococcus aureus andrnEscherichia coli were also isolated from 27.3% and 18.2% of the swabbed food utensils.rnIn conclusion large numbers of mass catering establishments were found with poor sanitaryrncondition and major deficiencies of the premises. The knowledge and practice of foodrnhandlers were also found unsatisfactory. In addition the laboratory results of swabbed utensilsrnrevealed the ineffectiveness of washing, sanitizing, handling and storage system. Therefore,rnthe likelihood of food contamination is very high. Promoting and improving the standardrnsanitary requirements through regulatory activity, regular sanitary inspection focusing onrneducation and motivation of owners and food handlers as well as an integrated work withrnother relevant sectors, is recommended.rnKeywords: Sanitary condition, catering, food utensils, swab test