Hygiene is high on list' for diners
A new report claims that 64% of people will not return to eat in a pub if they believe it is unhygienic.
The Mori survey, which was carried out in six European countries, found customers would not revisit a pub even if they thought the quality and price of food was good. The survey claims that 44% of people in the UK felt restaurants do not pay enough attention to hygiene. It was also revealed that European consumers perceived hygiene standards as worst in pubs, wine bars and fast-food bars. Dirty crockery and cutlery was the biggest turn-off to customers in the UK. However, 44% of UK consumers also felt that the level of hygiene and cleanliness in restaurants has improved over the past few years.
Sixty-one per cent of UK consumers said that given the choice, they preferred to go to restaurants which have an open-kitchen area so they can see how clean the facilities are. Graham Jukes, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: "We are encouraged to see that British customers put hygiene high on their list when choosing a restaurant, and that they consider that standards of cleanliness have improved in recent years." He added: "We hope this will act as a wake-up call to those restaurant owners who are still not giving adequate priority to good hygiene and do not think it is important to their business. "The message is clear: if you want people to come back to your restaurant a second time, you need to ensure that staff are properly trained and the right food safety and hygiene procedures are in place."
In 2002, more than 70,000 cases of food poisoning were reported in the UK. The survey was carried out by Mori on behalf of Kimberly-Clark Professional.
