Research Shows Restaurant-Goers Have Strong Opinions about Hygiene

Recent research conducted by Harris Interactive, New York, N.Y., USA, on behalf of SCA Tissue North America's (Philadelphia, Pa., USA) Tork brand showed that consumers have strong opinions about restaurant cleanliness, particularly when it comes to eating surfaces. The results of the consumer poll conducted online with 2,495 U.S. adults ages 18 and older provide valuable insight and guidance to restaurant owners in terms of how to approach hygiene and cleaning.

For example, 74% of American adults who eat at restaurants say that chefs repeatedly using the same rags to clean food contact surfaces is a very unhygienic practice. Seventy-six percent agree that employees using color-coded cleaning products to prevent cross contamination would by very hygienic. Using disposable wiping products to clean food-contact surfaces is considered very hygienic by 77% of adults who eat at restaurants.

Donna Duberg, an authority on hygiene and disease prevention, believes that consumers have it right; and that restaurant owners need to take surface hygiene seriously if they want to avoid losing business productivity and sales. "Public hygiene, specifically in areas where consumers eat, is top-of-mind with the American public and restaurant owners stand to lose a lot if they aren't paying attention to what is important to their customers," said Duberg, an assistant professor of clinical laboratory science at St. Louis University and Tork Green Hygiene Council member. "A simple change in practice, such as using single-use, nonwoven food service wipers to clean eating and cooking surfaces, can create a healthier work environment and a more positive consumer experience." Duberg offers the following tips to restaurant owners:

Additional survey results include:

For complete survey results and a full methodology statement, contact Mike Kapalko, SCA Tissue, at (920) 720-4550.

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