550 Leeds and Bradford eateries threatened over poor food hygiene, study claims

551 Leeds and Bradford businesses selling food are at risk of losing over half of their customers due to poor food hygiene, according to research and analysis from Checkit.net.

61% of consumers say they won’t eat at a restaurant, takeaway, coffee shop or pub that has a low Food Standards Agency (FSA) Food Hygiene Rating while 75% say they wouldn’t risk dining at a restaurant that had been implicated in a food hygiene incident, even if recommended by someone that they trust.

According to the latest Food Standards Agency figures, there are 231 restaurants, cafes, canteens, mobile caterers, pubs, takeaways, sandwich shops and hotels in Leeds with a Food Hygiene Rating of two or below - 7% of the overall total.

This means they are classed as ‘urgent improvement necessary’, ‘major improvement necessary’ or ‘improvements necessary.’ For Bradford the figure is 222, making up 10% of food businesses in the city.

Takeaways and sandwich shops were the worst sector for low food hygiene ratings, with 16% of Bradford businesses, and 15% of those in Leeds scoring 2 or under. Given that 64% of consumers say they’d avoid takeaways with low food hygiene ratings, this will have a major impact on the sector’s revenues and individual business survival.

Checkit’s consumer research also found that diners would rather put up with poor service from rude and unhelpful staff than eat at dirty restaurants. 66% of respondents rated unclean or dirty premises as the first or second reason for not returning to a restaurant. Just 16% cited slow or poor service with 32% saying rude or unhelpful staff would stop them coming back again.

Dee Roche, marketing director of Checkit.net, said: “Food hygiene is now the number one priority for consumers when eating out, meaning our research should act as a wake up call for those restaurants in Leeds and Bradford with poor food hygiene ratings.

“As well as the health of their customers they are risking the survival of their business – few of them could cope with 61% of diners boycotting their restaurant. These findings show why food safety is priority – customers rate hygiene as the number one reason, above service or rude staff when it comes to choosing whether to return to a restaurant.”

The impact of being implicated in a food hygiene incident has a significant impact on the survival of any restaurant business. Of the 75% of consumers that wouldn’t risk a visit, 43% said they’d never dine there, 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 – meaning that owners would have the ability to invest heavily over a long period of time to meet hygiene standards, rebuild trust and attract diners back.

The research found that consumers had the highest expectations of fine dining restaurants, with 69% saying they would not visit any that had a low food hygiene rating. In contrast they were slightly better disposed to cafés and coffee shops (55%), possibly due to the more limited range of food being sold.

The Checkit Study is based on research carried out online with 1,000 consumers by Toluna in Q1 2016, combined with analysis of the Food Standards Agency’s Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →