Europeans Vote "No" To Poor Restaurant Hygiene

Seven in ten Europeans are concerned about hygiene in restaurants (68%). This is what emerges from a new study conducted by MORI on behalf of Kimberly-Clark across Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland looking into European consumers attitudes to restaurant hygiene.

Seven in ten Europeans are concerned about hygiene in restaurants (68%). This is what emerges from a new study conducted by MORI on behalf of Kimberly-Clark across Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland looking into European consumers attitudes to restaurant hygiene.

Concern about overall levels of hygiene in restaurants differs greatly between countries, with the British (84%) the Italians (82%) and the French (82%) being the most anxious. The Germans have more faith in their restaurants, with more than half not concerned about hygiene (56%). The British are also the most concerned of all markets about the risk of contracting food poisoning in restaurants (78%), particularly compared to the Germans (28%).

If they suspected contracting food poisoning in a restaurant, the great majority of adults in the European markets where the survey took place would complain to either the restaurant, the council or the Environmental Health Department, the Food Standards Agency and/or the media (82%). Around half say they would boycott the restaurant (48%), 30% would tell their friends about their bad experience and 26% would ask for a refund or a reduction on their meal.

Dirty and smelly toilets are by far the most irritating factor for European adults when they visit restaurants' washrooms (48% say so) and this view is shared across all the European markets that participated in the survey. Other irritating factors include lack of toilet paper (36%) and a generally dirty environment (28%).

Technical details

MORI carried out a total of 5,664 interviews with adults in (1,184 in Great Britain, 1,010 in France, 953 in Germany, 995 in Italy, 1,016 Spain and 506 in Switzerland. Interviewing took place between 25 January and 27 February 2005. Interviews were carried out face-to-face in respondents' homes in all countries. Data have been weighted to reflect the national population profile. The combined figures have been weighted to reflect the different population sizes of the countries.

Topline Results

  • Topline results are based on weighted data to reflect the profile of the population of France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Switzerland
  • Combined figures are based on weighted data to reflect the relative population size of each country
  • Results are based on interviews with General Public, conducted face-to-face between 25 January 2005 and 27 February 2005
  • All figures quoted are percentages
  • An asterisk (*) indicates a percentage of less than 0.5% but greater than zero. Where percentages do not add up to 100 this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don't know categories
  • All figures are based on the whole sample in each country (France: 1,010; Germany: 953; Great Britain: 1,184; Italy: 995; Spain: 1,016; Switzerland: 506) and in all countries combined (5,664).

Q1a To what extent are you concerned about overall hygiene in restaurants?

  All Fra Ger GB Ita Spa Swi
  % % % % % % %
Very concerned 35 41 11 53 50 33 26
Fairly concerned 33 41 31 31 32 32 24
Not very concerned 22 10 43 12 12 18 29
Not at all concerned 9 7 13 2 4 14 19
Don't know 2 1 2 2 2 3 1

Q1b To what extent are you concerned about risk of food poisoning in restaurants?

  All Fra Ger GB Ita Spa Swi
  % % % % % % %
Very concerned 30 35 8 49 40 34 18
Fairly concerned 27 33 20 29 31 30 15
Not very concerned 28 21 49 17 19 21 33
Not at all concerned 13 11 21 4 9 13 31
Don't know 2 1 3 2 2 2 2

Q2 Which, if any, of the following would you do if you suspected contracting food poisoning in a restaurant? What else?

  All Fra Ger GB Ita Spa Swi
  % % % % % % %
Complain to owner / manager 52 65 37 62 51 49 64
Deliberately not go back to the same restaurant 48 52 51 39 60 30 49
Tell your friends you got food poisoning 30 46 27 32 32 9 30
Complain to council or Environmental Health Department (or equivalent) 30 17 37 51 24 14 14
Complain to the Food Standards Agency (or equivalent) 24 27 16 34 14 38 30
Ask for a refund 22 21 33 14 23 8 31
Complain to another member of the restaurant staff 8 8 12 4 9 8 9
Write a letter to the local press/newspaper 5 5 8 3 6 3 6
Ask for a reduction in the bill 4 2 6 2 8 1 6
Provide your comments to a restaurant review 4 6 6 2 4 2 4
Provide your comments on online restaurant review site(s) 2 3 4 1 1 1 2
None of the above 2 2 3 2 * 2 3
Don't know 3 1 4 1 * 8 2

Q3 Which one or two of the following irritate you most when you go into washroom or toilet in a restaurant?

  All Fra Ger GB Ita Spa Swi
  % % % % % % %
Smelly / Dirty toilets 48 51 42 44 60 49 48
No toilet tissue 36 45 28 38 28 44 43
Generally dirty environment 28 27 21 24 36 38 26
Bad smells 16 21 19 13 8 14 17
No soap to wash your hands 14 10 11 29 12 10 12
Toilet door doesn't close/lock properly 11 11 14 11 9 4 7
Mixed ladies and gents toilets 7 2 9 4 12 3 4
Bar of soap rather than soap dispenser 5 2 4 4 10 2 4
No disposable hand towels supplied 5 6 8 5 2 2 9
No hand towels supplied 4 5 6 7 1 2 7
No mirror provided 3 * 5 1 6 3 1
Not enough cubicles 3 2 6 2 1 * 2
Hot air dryers as only means of drying your hands 2 2 4 3 1 0 9
Rolling linen hand towels on a pulling system as only means of drying your hands 2 3 4 2 1 * 2
None of the above 2 2 4 2 * 1 2
Don't know 1 1 2 1 * 5 1

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