Show me the grade: Restaurant food safety ratings and consumer confidence

1
Show me the grade Restaurant food safety ratings
and consumer confidence

• Katie Filion
• February 12, 2009www.foodsafety.ksu.edu
• www.barfblog.com
• kfilion_at_uoguelph.ca

2
Risk communication

• Food safety risk management programs are an
  action to demonstrate to consumers that food
  providers are cognizant of consumer concerns
  about food safety
• (Powell 2002)

3
Foodborne illness

• In the US it is estimated 1 in 4 persons become
  ill- 76 million cases of foodborne illness -
  325 000 hospitalizations - 5000 deaths
• (Mead et al. 1999)

4
Restaurant inspection

• WHO estimates only 38 meals in the US are made
  at home
• Purpose of inspection- Enhance consumer
  confidence in food prepared outside of the home
• - Provide incentives for restaurants to promote
  a safe food environment- Protect the public
  from unsafe establishments- Reduce the risk of
  foodborne illness

5
Restaurant inspection disclosure

• Purpose of public disclosure systems-
  Communicate the importance of risks and
  violations found in inspection to consumers-
  Improve compliance with regulations by restaurant
  staff and managers
• (Seiver and Hatfield 2000)

6
Restaurant inspection disclosure

• Disclosure systems are inconsistent- Request
  inspection report at establishment or food safety
  authority- Posted on premises in simplified
  form- Published in newspapers - On websites

7
Examples of disclosure systems

• Letter Grades posted conspicuously at the food
  establishment
• LA county A, B, C and actual score for those
  under a C score
• - Auckland, NZ A,B,D,E grades no C to avoid
  consumer confusion

8
Numerical scores posted conspicuously at the food
establishment

• Mobile, AL High score of 100, reduced with
  violations score below 85 elicits closure
• NYC Tally violations score greater than 28
  indicates public health hazard

9

• Colored cards posted conspicuously at the food
  establishment
• Toronto, ON Green pass,
• yellow conditional pass, and
• red closed
• Columbus, OH Green pass, yellow conditional
  pass, white probation, and red indicates failed
  re-inspection

10

• Terms of compliance posted conspicuously at the
  food establishment
• Niagara, ON
• Pass and Fail cards
• Hamilton, ON
• Pass, Conditional pass
• and Fail

11
Smiley faces posted conspicuously at the food
establishment

• had no remarks
• emphasized that certain rules must be obeyed
• issued an injunction order or prohibition
• issued an Administrative fine or reported to
  Police
• has received the happy smiley for the last 4
  inspections and no remarks in past 12 months

12
Colored stars posted conspicuously at the food
establishment

• Barnet Borough of London 5 star rating
• scheme, with zero stars representing
• very poor hygiene and potential health
• risk to 5 stars representing Very high
• standard of food safety
• Northern Iowa stars awarded for various aspects
  of proper food safety
• Proper holding temperatures
• Proper cooking
• Clean equipment
• Good employee hygiene

13

• Online database of results
• - Used alone, or to compliment one of the
  aforementioned systems

14

• Name and shame notice
• - New South Wales name and shame businesses
  that fail to meet food safety regulations
• Ireland food establishments that fail to improve
  conditions likely to pose risk to public appear
  on a website until the situation is corrected,
  and for 3 months following

15
Benefits of disclosure systems

• Consumers desire food safety information-
  Hamilton, ON How important is the inspection
  notice in a restaurants window? Average
  importance of 4.44 out of 5 (Henson et.
  al. 2006)- Toronto, ON As many as 95 of those
  surveyed indicated the colored inspection cards
  influenced dining decisions
• (Toronto Staff Report 2003)

16

• Disclosure systems can provide incentives for
  those within the food industry
• - Public reporting of poor inspection results
  may lead to negative consumer attitudes toward an
  establishment, influencing food service employees
  to improve food safety (Almanza et al.
  2002)

17

• - Danish study found that 8 out of 10 managers or
  owners reportedly discussed practices with their
  staff that would get them the happy smiley
• (DVFA 2008)
• - In LA County after mandatory letter grade
  posting was introduced it was found that
  restaurants with A grades increased, while B and
  C grades decreased (Fielding et al. 2001)

18
Issues with disclosure systems

• Consumer do not fully understand posted
  inspection information- Availability of
  inspection results had an effect on where
  consumers chose to eat however consumers have a
  number of misconceptions and unrealistic
  expectations of inspection
• (Jones and Grimm 2008)

19

• - Consumer misconceptions include frequency of
  inspections, and therefore how often violations
  occur
• (Henson et al. 2006)
• - Consumers interpret scores as overall
  indicator of quality
• (Wiant 1999)
• - Some jurisdictions disclose reports, however
  consumers have difficulty assessing severity of
  violations in terms of risk to food safety
• (Worsfold 2006b)

20

• Pressure from restaurant industry may hinder
  implementation (Wiant 1999)
• Concerns have been raised in simplifying the
  complexities of the restaurant inspection report
  into a single score, grade or symbol
• (Worsfold 2006a)

21

• Food safety is not the only factor affecting
  consumer patronage to a restaurant-
  Friends/relatives/colleagues- Media (newspapers,
  TV programs)- Atmosphere, food quality and cost,
  cleanliness of facility (Worsfold 2006a
  Gregory and Kim 2005 Leach 2003 Cheang 2002)
• Disclosure information must be up to date to
  ensure accurate information is available

22
Issues with restaurant inspection

• Interviews with operators in Manhattan, KS and
  Lansing, MI indicated that although operators may
  feel inspection is a good thing, it is not
  representative of what really happens -
  Personnel and procedures are adjusted to look
  better during an inspection- Interviews with
  inspectors reported the same thing that it was
  not a fair representation
• Chapman et al. 2007

23
Research needs

• Complimentary tools for disclosure systems to
  inform consumers about the process of restaurant
  inspection
• Determine which disclosure methods are most
  effective for communicating with the public about
  inspection results - Letter grades, numerical
  scores, smileys, terms of compliance
• Create a consistent system within a state or
  country

24
Restaurant disclosure in New Zealand

• Population 4.29 million- Able to pilot a
  nation-wide disclosure system
• In Auckland, NZ Use letter grades A-E, with the
  exception of C - Review current disclosure
  system

25
www.foodsafety.ksu.edu