Restaurant Food Safety Research Articles

Hot Weather Impacts on New York City Restaurant Food Safety Violations and Operations

Previous studies have shown that higher ambient air temperature is associated with increased incidence of gastrointestinal illnesses, possibly as a result of leaving potentially hazardous food in the temperature danger zone for too long. However, little is known about the effect of hot weather on restaurant practices to maintain safe food temperatures. We examined hot weather impacts on restaurant food safety violations and operations in New York City using quantitative and qualitative methods. We used data from 64,661 inspections conducted among 29,614 restaurants during May to September, 2011 to 2015. We used Poisson time-series regression to estimate the cumulative relative risk (CRR) of temperature-related food safety violations across a range of daily maximum temperature (13 to 40°C [56 to 104°F]) over a lag of 0 to 3 days. We present CRRs for an increase in daily maximum temperature from the median (28°C [82°F]) to the 95th percentile (34°C [93°F]) values. Maximum temperature increased the risk of violations for cold food holding above 5°C (41°F) (CRR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.14, 1.25) and insufficient refrigerated or hot holding equipment (CRR, 2.37; 95% CI, 2.02, 2.79). We also conducted focus groups among restaurant owners and managers to aid interpretation of findings and identify challenges or knowledge gaps that prevent hot weather preparedness. Focus group participants cited refrigeration issues as a common problem during hot weather. Participants expressed the need for more guidance on hot weather and power outages to be delivered concisely. Our findings suggest that hotter temperatures may compromise cold and hot food holding, possibly by straining refrigeration or other equipment. The findings have public health implications because holding potentially hazardous foods in the temperature danger zone allows foodborne pathogens to proliferate and increases risk for foodborne illness. Distribution of simple guidelines that can be easily accessed during emergencies could help restaurants respond better.

Food safety in restaurants: The consumer perspective

The study aimed to reveal the indicators that consumers in Mainland China employ to evaluate food safety level of restaurants and find how the use of them varies across consumer subgroups. A national survey was carried out and 1076 respondents completed questionnaires which consisted of 33 questions. The results showed that the consumers preferred to assess a restaurant’s food safety level based on “sensory perception of food” and “restaurant environment”. Although official inspection certificate is one of the reliable indicators, the consumers seldom use it. Furthermore, consumers from different subgroups used different indicators. The females were much more finicky – they employed more indicators to protect them from unsafe restaurants. These results demonstrated a need for better education to create discerning consumers to expel those that fail to deliver safe food. Restaurants can rely on the results to develop effective marketing communication to match the consumers’ decision attributes.

Using Tracking Data to Promote Environmental Public Health Through Regulatory and Legislative Processes in New York City.

Legislation and regulation are powerful tools for decreasing health risks from environmental hazards. Legislation is enacted by an elected body, and regulations are issued by an agency in the executive branch delegated authority by the legislature to carry out enacted laws. The New York City (NYC) Environmental Public Health Tracking Program makes data and analytic findings available to policy makers to inform development of sound and effective environmental health legislation and regulation. Tracking data and associated science create awareness of environmental hazards and health impacts, guide strategies for mitigating hazards, and sustain support for effective law by documenting beneficial impacts on the environment and health. We describe how environmental and health surveillance data and analytic findings have informed legislation and regulations related to restaurant food safety and air pollution control in NYC. Using data to guide legislative and regulatory processes helps ensure that policy decisions and directions are based on objective evidence.

What Are the Financial Implications of Public Quality Disclosure? Evidence from New York City’s Restaurant Food Safety Grading Policy

Grading schemes are an increasingly common method of quality disclosure for public services. Restaurant grading makes information about food safety practices more readily available and may reduce the prevalence of foodborne illnesses. However, it may also have meaningful financial repercussions. Using fine-grained administrative data that tracks food safety compliance and sales activity for the universe of graded restaurants in New York City and its bordering counties, we assess the aggregate financial effects from restaurant grading. Results indicate that the grading policy, after an initial period of adjustment, improves restaurants’ food safety compliance and reduces fines. While the average effect on revenues for graded restaurants across the municipality is null, the graded restaurants located geographically closer to an ungraded regime experience slower growth in revenues. There is also evidence of revenue convergence across graded and ungraded restaurants in the long term.

Inspection Frequency, Sociodemographic Factors, and Food Safety Violations in Chain and Nonchain Restaurants, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2013-2014.

We explored how restaurant inspection frequency and restaurant neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics are related to food safety inspection outcomes in chain and nonchain restaurants to better understand external factors that may influence inspection outcomes. We categorized the results of restaurant inspections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2013 and 2014 by restaurant type (chain or nonchain), inspection frequency (1, 2, or ≥3 per 2-year study period), and violation type (total number of violations, foodborne-illness risk factor violation, or good retail practice violation). We collected 2013 US Census block group sociodemographic data for each restaurant neighborhood. We used nested mixed-effects regression analyses to determine the association between restaurant inspection frequency and inspection violations, as well as between inspection violations and restaurant neighborhood sociodemographic variables, stratified by restaurant type. Compared with nonchain restaurants, chain restaurants had significantly fewer total violations per inspection (mean [SD]: 6.5 [4.6] vs 9.6 [6.8] violations, P < .001). For nonchain restaurants, an increase from 1 to 2 inspections resulted in 0.8 ( P < .001) fewer mean violations per inspection, and an increase from 1 to ≥3 inspections resulted in 1.6 ( P < .001) fewer mean violations; this association was not seen in chain restaurants. For nonchain restaurants, a higher proportion of black residents in a restaurant neighborhood was associated with 0.6 ( P < .001) fewer mean foodborne-illness risk factor violations but 1.0 ( P < .001) more mean good retail practice violations per inspection. A risk-based stratified approach to restaurant food safety inspection frequency, based on whether or not restaurants are part of chains, could reduce the frequency of violations, particularly in restaurants with the most violations.

The effect of psychological empowerment climate on restaurant food safety, food quality, and financial performance

ABSTRACTConsumer food safety incidences that result from employee accidents and behaviors can be detrimental and costly to a restaurant organization. Restaurant organizations and hospitality researchers have sought multiple methods of increasing food safety performance through training and intervention, but this study suggests that shared agreement of psychological empowerment may be a key factor in improving food safety performance, and in turn, food quality and store revenues. Using data from a national chain of quick service restaurants, this study used groups of restaurant employees’ psychological empowerment as an antecedent to food safety performance, measured in a food safety audit, and found significant support. Moreover, using consumer evaluations of food quality and the organization's store revenue records, indirect and direct relationships among psychological empowerment, food safety performance, food quality, and revenues were found. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Restaurant inspection frequency: The RestoFreq Study.

Foodborne illness is an important contributor to morbidity and health system costs in Canada. Using number of critical hazards as a proxy for food safety, we sought to better understand how to improve food safety in restaurants. We compared the current standard of annual inspections to twice-yearly inspections among restaurants "at risk" for food safety infractions. These were restaurants that had three or more elevated-risk inspection ratings in the preceding 36 months. We conducted a two-arm randomized controlled trial between November 2012 and October 2014. The intervention was twice-yearly routine restaurant inspection compared to standard once-yearly routine inspection. Included were all restaurants within Saskatoon Health Region that were assessed as "at risk", with 73 restaurants in the intervention arm and 78 in the control arm. Independent sample t-tests were conducted between groups to compare: i) average number of critical hazards per inspection; and ii) proportion of inspections resulting in a rating indicating an elevated hazard. Over time we noted statistically significant improvements across both study arms, in number of both critical food safety hazards (decreased by 61%) and elevated-risk inspection ratings (decreased by 45%) (p &lt; 0.0001). We observed no significant differences between the two groups pre- or post-intervention. Results suggest increasing the number of annual routine inspections in high-risk restaurants was not associated with a significant difference in measures of compliance with food safety regulations. Findings of this study do not provide evidence supporting increased frequency of restaurant inspection from annually to twice annually.

Understanding responses to posted restaurant food safety scores: An information processing and regulatory focus perspective

Ensuring the safety of food served in restaurants continues to be an essential issue in the hospitality industry. An important part of the efforts to stem the outbreak of foodborne illnesses are the mandatory inspections of any entity that serves food to the public. Unfortunately, while posting food safety scores is intended to help consumers make better dining choices, interpreting these scores can often be difficult and confusing. The purpose of this study is to use information processing theory as a framework to investigate how consumers evaluate food safety inspection scores. To achieve this goal, this research provides an account of the effect of food safety concern on consumers’ attitudes toward restaurants under conditions of both positive and negative health inspection results. The results identify a moderating effect of health score in the formation of consumers’ attitudes toward restaurants. The downstream effects on expected satisfaction and behaviors are also established.

An investigation of restaurant food safety performance: A comparison between ethnic and nonethnic and chain and independent restaurants in Louisiana

ABSTRACTThis study examines health inspection data from casual dining restaurants and compares differences of food code violations between ethnic and nonethnic restaurants. A total of 7,415 violations were retrieved from the restaurant inspection reports of 769 restaurants. Ethnic restaurants have more violations than nonethnic restaurant in categories related to food time/temperature violations, cross contamination, and food condition/surface/labels. Nonethnic and chain restaurants had fewer behavioral violations than ethnic and independently operated restaurants. Ethnic restaurants were 1.74 times more likely than nonethnic restaurants to have critical violations. Meanwhile, independent restaurants were 1.64 times more likely than chain restaurants to have critical violations.

Should Weights and Risk Categories Be Used for Inspection Scores To Evaluate Food Safety in Restaurants?

The objective of this study was to verify the characteristics of food safety inspections, considering risk categories and binary scores. A cross-sectional study was performed with 439 restaurants in 43 Brazilian cities. A food safety checklist with 177 items was applied to the food service establishments. These items were classified into four groups (R1 to R4) according to the main factors that can cause outbreaks involving food: R1, time and temperature aspects; R2, direct contamination; R3, water conditions and raw material; and R4, indirect contamination (i.e., structures and buildings). A score adjusted for 100 was calculated for the overall violation score and the violation score for each risk category. The average violation score (standard deviation) was 18.9% (16.0), with an amplitude of 0.0 to 76.7%. Restaurants with a low overall violation score (approximately 20%) presented a high number of violations from the R1 and R2 groups, representing the most risky violations. Practical solutions to minimize this evaluation bias were discussed. Food safety evaluation should use weighted scores and be risk-based. However, some precautions must be taken by researchers, health inspectors, and health surveillance departments to develop an adequate and reliable instrument.

The small business dilemma

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the particular dilemma of achieving international best practice and regulatory compliance for food safety in small local restaurants with limited resources, low levels of literacy and no common language. It is the fourth article in a Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes theme issue presenting a comprehensive government strategy for improving food safety management standards across the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach – The article outlines extensive industry fieldwork involving on-site observations and interviews, undertaken by researchers from the relevant cultural backgrounds to identify common practices and specific risks, and facilitate targeted interventions. Findings – As expected, the independent restaurant sub-sector in Abu Dhabi is similar to international norms, with the additional challenge of language and literacy. In-depth on-site observations reveal a range of high-risk situations and practices, which require specific solutions from government to raise food safety levels. Practical implications – This article clarifies the scale and nature of the independent restaurant sub-sector of hospitality businesses, and uses in-depth, culturally appropriate research to identify the reality of food safety practices, major risks and areas for improvement. It identifies a list of 18 practices found in small hospitality businesses, which if controlled would make a significant difference to food safety. Originality/value – The article will be of value to practitioners, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.

餐饮食品安全专业校企合作人才培养模式探讨*

Restaurant food safety school aims to cultivate high-skilled talents with professional ethics and professional quality for various food and beverage industries. They not only grasp basic knowledge and comprehensive vocational ability of restaurant food safety management, nutrition guidance and food matching, management and administration of catering industry but also adapt to the development of modern hotel and catering industry. Based on continuous exploration and cooperative experience with enterprises, the author attempts to provide reference basis for the establishment of restaurant food safety major.

Restaurant manager and worker food safety certification and knowledge.

Over half of foodborne illness outbreaks occur in restaurants. To combat these outbreaks, many public health agencies require food safety certification for restaurant managers, and sometimes workers. Certification entails passing a food safety knowledge examination, which is typically preceded by food safety training. Current certification efforts are based on the assumption that certification leads to greater food safety knowledge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted this study to examine the relationship between food safety knowledge and certification. We also examined the relationships between food safety knowledge and restaurant, manager, and worker characteristics. We interviewed managers (N=387) and workers (N=365) about their characteristics and assessed their food safety knowledge. Analyses showed that certified managers and workers had greater food safety knowledge than noncertified managers and workers. Additionally, managers and workers whose primary language was English had greater food safety knowledge than those whose primary language was not English. Other factors associated with greater food safety knowledge included working in a chain restaurant, working in a larger restaurant, having more experience, and having more duties. These findings indicate that certification improves food safety knowledge, and that complex relationships exist among restaurant, manager, and worker characteristics and food safety knowledge.

Does the Gender of Quick-Service Franchisees and Corporate Supervisors and Managers Affect Restaurant Appearance and Food Safety Performance?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether restaurant customer ratings for store appearance and food safety performance are associated with manager gender. Data were collected over a 1-year period utilizing two samples: (1) franchise owners and corporate supervisors and (2) corporate managers. The results of this study showed that female franchise owners and corporate supervisors had higher scores on store appearance than those units owned or supervised by males. Similarly, by utilizing a sample of corporate restaurant managers, and controlling for the leader-member exchange with employees, the results found that female managers had higher store appearance and food safety scores than their male counterparts. This study suggests that hospitality researchers and practitioners should utilize gender differences when identifying ways to improve restaurant cleanliness and food safety dimensions.

Consumer vs. citizen willingness to pay for restaurant food safety

Individuals may display different preferences for food regulations when acting as a voting citizen than as a buying consumer. In this paper, we examine whether such a duality exists between citizens and consumers in the willingness to pay for food safety standards in restaurants. Using a split-sample willingness to pay survey, we find that individuals exhibit a higher willingness to pay for improved food safety standards in restaurants when acting as voting citizens than as buying consumers. Relying on consumer studies that focus on the buying context may therefore underestimate the support found among the public for new food regulations. This finding is important for policy makers using consumer studies in decision support and for researchers attempting to understand individual preferences.

Consumer perceptions on food safety in Asian and Mexican restaurants

Dining out is a frequent activity for most Americans. Ethnic-food restaurants like Chinese and Mexican are the most sought after dining experience after American cuisine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) foodborne outbreak data from 1990 to 2000 shows an increase of foodborne outbreaks from ethnic restaurants. Focus groups and an online survey were conducted to explore consumer perceptions of restaurant food safety and attitudes toward ethnic restaurants. Twenty-seven Californians participated in focus groups and volunteers (n=994) in both California and Florida completed an internet survey. While respondents noted that they only dine at restaurants where they trust the food, Mexican restaurants scored higher in food safety confidence than Asian restaurants. Kitchen cleanliness was the most important factor influencing safety followed by restroom cleanliness and cooking temperature. People believed all restaurant employees should be trained in food safety, restaurant inspections should be more frequent, and the government should be more active in protecting consumers. Food safety is an underlying factor in restaurant selection and continued patronage. Women and seniors scored higher on seriousness of food safety adherence in restaurants while young males respondents reported to worry less about food safety when dining out. Word of mouth and the internet were the most frequently cited sources of food safety information. While respondents believed they are knowledgeable about food safety, they often failed to recognize signs of foodborne illness. Incorporating information about consumer attitudes into food safety training courses could help ethnic restaurant owners be mindful of their customers’ expectations.

Health Department Websites as a Source of Restaurant Food Safety Information

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 2010) and fast-growing Internet use have created new ways to seek food safety information on the Web. Many health departments are now providing restaurant food safety inspection reports on the Web to meet the public's demand for food safety information. Little research has been done to evaluate availability of inspection reports on the Web and the formats used to post inspection reports. Of 110 Websites, 68 (61.8%) provided inspection reports. Formats ranged from a basic summary to a complete listing of violations. Some Websites provided some information in alternative languages; however, all inspection reports were provided in English. Most of the Websites were updated every 3 months.

Promoting a culture of food safety to improve hygiene in small restaurants in Madagascar

In this study, we combined microbiological analyses; spot-check observations and in-depth interviews to study food safety in small restaurants in Antananarivo (Madagascar). We showed that faecal contaminations (Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp.) occur at high rate in mixed salad sold in these restaurants. This is resulting from vendors’ unhygienic behaviours. We studied vendors’ motivations and priorities as well as their material and social context of activity. Based on our findings, we propose key elements to build intervention programmes to promote an appropriate culture of food safety: (i) using disgust associated with the contact with stools to explain contamination chains of food and water; (ii) emphasizing on vendors’ representation of the link between cleanliness and health together with changing norms about what is seen as “clean”; and (iii) emphasizing on vendors’ responsibility towards customers’ health using the Malagasy traditional ideology of “tody”.

Food Sanitation Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior for the University Restaurants Employees

The purpose of this study was to discuss the food sanitation knowledge, attitude, and behavior for the employees of university restaurants, and furthermore, to explain the interrelations of these various were occurring at school. A questionnaire survey procedure was used. Each two constructs of food sanitation attitude and behavior were analyzed by factor analysis. Data was analyzed by description, Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis. The correctness rate toward the whole sanitation knowledge of trials was 70%. The overall attitude toward food sanitation was prone to positive and the attitude of employee self-responsibility was superior to the attitude of food sanitation practice. The sanitary guiding behavior was better than the sanitary habit behavior; and there was a significant relationship indicated through Pearson correlation analysis among three various. The sanitation knowledge and sanitation attitude showed a 42.6% predictive power to behavior, the attitude was mediated between knowledge and behavior. The university restaurant employees shared a more pessimistic view toward the benefits of training and the institutions could establish a committee for monitoring food nutrition and sanitation. It provides valuable information for development employees training while seeking to raise school restaurant food safety levels.

The impact of inspection reports on consumer behavior: A pilot study

This pilot study evaluated the impact of inspection score information on consumer behavior. Protection motivation theory was used to investigate consumer’s behavioral intentions resulting from food safety information provided in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was created to measure consumers’ perceived likelihood of changing behavior based on protection motivation theory after reading restaurant food safety information in the form of inspection reports. The pilot showed that the methodology used to collect the data was sound. While the number of respondents was too small to show significance, several important trends were noted. One of the more important finding was that the affordable cost of selecting an alternative restaurant rose with the number of violations.