The research from Checkit, the food safety management company, also found that 61% wouldn’t eat at a restaurant, takeaway, coffee shop or pub that has a low Food Standards Agency (FSA) Food Hygiene Rating.
Diners would also rather put up with poor service from rude and unhelpful staff than eat at dirty restaurants. Two thirds (66%) rated unclean or dirty premises as the first or second reason for not returning to a restaurant.
Dee Roche, marketing director at Checkit, said: “It doesn’t matter if you are a Michelin starred restaurant or a local takeaway – consumers will not tolerate poor food hygiene and will vote with their feet if a restaurant has been implicated in a food hygiene incident.
“This demonstrates the enormous impact that poor food safety has on business survival – how could you cope with 61% of your customers boycotting your restaurant?
“These findings are a wake up call to those restaurants that think that food safety is not a customer priority – diners rate hygiene as the number one reason, above service or rude staff when it comes to choosing whether to return to a restaurant.”
Of the 75% of consumers that wouldn’t risk a visit to a restaurant implicated in a food hygiene incident, 43% said they’d never dine there, no matter what, while 32% would only return if it had closed down and reopened under new ownership. A further 22% said they’d only return if the food hygiene rating improved dramatically.
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland helps consumers choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving them information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, takeaways and food shops.
The scale runs from 0 (urgent improvement necessary) through 1 (major improvement necessary) to 2 (improvement necessary) up to 5 (very good). Ratings are available from the Food Standards Agency’s websites and are normally displayed within the premises as well.