Food safety is hard to ensure and can be costly to maintain. It encompasses many things, from keeping fresh perishable stock to employee hygiene to maintaining clean cooking areas. And it\u2019s usually one of the first things to slip if a restaurant is cutting corners and trying to keep in the black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is dangerously short-sighted\u2013for both the customer and<\/em> the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Numerous government bodies exist to keep restaurants and food establishments in check, but violations still happen. In 2016 alone, over 5,300 cases of US foodborne illness were attributed to sit-down dining establishments<\/a>, and over 4,000 to fast-food restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you were one of those cases, you would\u2019ve been slapped with a hefty fine, which is painful enough. But food safety violations also damage other areas of business that have an even greater and longer-term impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Litigation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The government\u2019s not the only one who can chase you down for money. Patrons who fall ill due to your restaurant\u2019s food safety violation can pursue legal action against you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take the example of KFC, which had to pay more than $8.3 million<\/a> to a girl who\u2019d suffered brain damage due to sustained poisoning from one of their franchise branches. Smaller establishments won\u2019t likely have the army of lawyers and spare cash to help them through legal proceedings if sued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customer backlash<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers who have a bad experience won\u2019t just sit and take it. They\u2019re going to tell everyone they know. And in today\u2019s marketing environment, that means taking to social media and review sites like Yelp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might dismiss the idea as silly\u2013after all, who pays attention to those things? But it absolutely does. A survey by Checkit<\/a> found that 61% of customers say they won\u2019t eat a restaurant that has a low food hygiene rating while 75% say they won\u2019t risk dining at a restaurant that had been involved in a food safety violation\u2013even if the place is recommended by someone they trust.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lower employee morale<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers aren\u2019t the only ones who are unhappy with food safety violations: employees don\u2019t appreciate it either. The restaurant industry is full of employees who are overworked, underpaid, and undervalued. Topping this off with a dirty and unhealthy working environment is likely to force them into drastic action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n