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.
Poor hygiene, unsafe food handling practices, and a reliance on untrained food handlers may be placing vulnerable patients at some psychiatric hospitals at risk of foodborne illnesses, according to researchers
Researchers have described how climate change could have an impact on Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance.
Scientists analyzed more than 236,700 Salmonella genomes from 139 countries or regions over the
The Gates Foundation has called for proposals to create estimates of the global burden of diarrheal diseases, with a focus on children younger than 5 living in low- and middle-
Mexican authorities have warned about an adulterated brand of tequila as investigations continue into several tainted alcohol deaths.
La Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS) said the
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
The Yakima Health District in Washington is investigating 10 confirmed and suspected cases of Salmonella infection among individuals who reported eating food at the Fourth of July event hosted by
Khong Guan Corporation is recalling specific lots of “Glutinous Rice Balls with Black Sesame Filling” because they may contain undeclared peanuts.
People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to
