Designing a National Restaurant Inspection Disclosure System for New Zealand

Authors: Filion, Katie¹; Powell, Douglas²

Source: Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 74, Number 11, November 2011 , pp. 1869-1874(6)

Publisher: International Association for Food Protection

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $37.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30% of individuals in developed countries become ill from contaminated food or water each year, and up to 70% of these illnesses are estimated to be linked to food service facilities. The aim of restaurant inspections is to reduce foodborne outbreaks and enhance consumer confidence in food service. Inspection disclosure systems have been developed as tools for consumers and incentives for food service operators. Disclosure systems are common in developed countries but are inconsistently used, possibly because previous research has not determined the best format for disclosing inspection results. This study was conducted to develop a consistent, compelling, and trusted inspection disclosure system for New Zealand. Existing international and national disclosure systems were evaluated. Two cards, a letter grade (A, B, C, or F) and a gauge (speedometer style), were designed to represent a restaurant's inspection result and were provided to 371 premises in six districts for 3 months. Operators (n = 269) and consumers (n = 991) were interviewed to determine which card design best communicated inspection results. Less than half of the consumers noticed cards before entering the premises; these data indicated that the letter attracted more initial attention (78%) than the gauge (45%). Fifty-eight percent (38) of the operators with the gauge preferred the letter; and 79% (47) of the operators with letter preferred the letter. Eighty-eight percent (133) of the consumers in gauge districts preferred the letter, and 72% (161) of those in letter districts preferring the letter. Based on these data, the letter method was recommended for a national disclosure system for New Zealand.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-11-007

Affiliations: 1: Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA. misskatiefilion@gmail.com 2: Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA

Publication date: 2011-11-01

More about this publication?

IAFP members must first sign in on the right to access full text articles of JFP

First published in 1937, the Journal of Food Protection^®, is a refereed monthly publication. Each issue contains scientific research and authoritative review articles reporting on a variety of topics in food science pertaining to food safety and quality. The Journal is internationally recognized as the leading publication in the field of food microbiology with a readership exceeding 11,000 scientists from 70 countries. The Journal of Food Protection^® is indexed in Index Medicus, Current Contents, BIOSIS, PubMed, Medline, and many others.

Print and online subscriptions are available to Members and Institutional subscribers. Online visitors who are not IAFP Members or journal subscribers will be charged on a pay-per-view basis. Information can be obtained by calling +1 800.369.6337; +1 515.276.3344; fax: +1 515.276.8655, E-mail: info@foodprotection.org or Web site: www.foodprotection.org
Information for Authors
Submit a Paper
Subscribe to this Title
Membership Information
Information for Advertisers
ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Designing a National Restaurant Inspection Disclosure System for New Zealand

Buy & download fulltext article:

Tools

Key

Text size:

Useful pages