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.
A study in New Zealand has provided an insight into Campylobacter contamination and antimicrobial resistance in fresh chicken.
Campylobacter was detected in 50 percent of 24 samples. Among confirmed isolates,
Scientists have called for toxoplasmosis to be listed as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Toxoplasma parasite can cause ocular toxoplasmosis, an eye infection that
An analysis of Listeria in Switzerland covering six years has revealed several outbreaks and sporadic cases connected to international incidents.
Researchers collected 335 Listeria monocytogenes isolates from cases of listeriosis
Scientists have been unable to pinpoint the route of contamination in a hepatitis A outbreak traced to blueberries.
Twenty-four patients in the Netherlands became ill from November 2024 to
Coaticook brand Aged Cheddar Cheese is being recalled in Canada because of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
The recall was initiated by the company. As of the posting of the recall,
The Bear River Health Department announced today that it is investigating a Salmonella outbreak after identifying 21 confirmed cases in Cache and Box Elder Counties in northern Utah.
The department
Authorities in Hong Kong have issued a warning about a brand of imported rice noodles because of formaldehyde.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene
Northwest Naturals of Portland, OR, is voluntarily recalling 53 cases of Northwest Naturals Frozen Chicken Recipe cat food and 19 cases of Northwest Naturals Frozen Raw Diet for Dogs Chicken
