According to a recent study published in the academic journal Management Science, consumers are willing to disregard a restaurant’s poor health record if they believe the products and services are “authentic.” Inspiration for the study reportedly came from Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles in the 1980s that stored ducks by hanging them from their necks at room temperature. When the health department cited these places for health code violations, customers objected, saying that the method of cooking and storing ducks had been practiced for more than 4,000 years. Researchers wondered whether hygiene or authenticity is more significant to consumers when the two are at odds with one another, so they analyzed customer reviews of more than 9,700 restaurants in Los Angeles County posted online and the businesses’ health inspection reports. Authenticity can be very difficult to gauge, but to do so, the researchers gave scores based on certain keywords used in reviews. In comparing this score with the number of stars customers rated a restaurant and its health grade, the authors found that unhygienic but authentic restaurants were valued similarly to their hygienic counterparts. Consumers may have said some negative things about restaurants with low health grades, but they usually overlooked the hygiene issues when they thought authenticity was high.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
It remains unclear how excessively high levels of an additive got into tortillas that made more than 700 people sick in Finland.
In August 2023, 721 individuals became ill with
Researchers have suggested a move away from the aim of zero risk to an approach that acknowledges trade-offs between food safety and other areas.
Scientists said food systems will be
Health officials in England and Wales have warned people about the risk of catching harmful infections from animals.
Public Health Wales said it was important that people do not pick
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
A unit of the Food Standard Agency (FSA) has helped seize bushmeat in England.
The National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) operation resulted in one arrest. A 51-year-old man has been
Freshprep brand Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad with Feta & Pita Chips is being recalled in Canada because of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
The recall was triggered by the company, according
