Restaurant operators are aware that having a dirty establishment, or one that is perceived as unhygienic, can result in a loss of business in the long run. However, they may be unaware of how consumers perceive their methods of cleaning eating surfaces.
Research conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of SCA Tissue's Tork brand showed that consumers have strong opinions about restaurant cleanliness, particularly when it comes to eating surfaces.
The results of the online consumer poll, taken Nov. 10-12, 2009, with 2,495 U.S. adults, provide valuable insight and guidance to restaurant owners in terms of how to approach hygiene and cleaning. Results include:
- Seventy-four percent of American adults who eat at restaurants say that chefs' repeatedly using the same rags to clean food contact surfaces is a very unhygienic practice.
- Seventy-six percent agree that employees using color-coded cleaning products to prevent cross contamination would by very hygienic.
- Using disposable wiping products to clean food-contact surfaces is considered very hygienic by 77 percent of adults who eat at restaurants.
- Twenty-seven percent feel employees using cloth materials to clean dining tables and chairs is very hygienic, 27 percent feel this is very unhygienic, and 46 percent don't feel strongly either way.
- Sixty-five percent believe that cleaning a dining table with a towel that is free of debris and stains is a very hygienic practice.
Donna Duberg, a leading authority on hygiene and disease prevention, believes that consumers have it right and that restaurant owners need to take surface hygiene seriously if they want to avoid losing business productivity and sales.
"Public hygiene, specifically in areas where consumers eat, is top-of-mind with the American public and restaurant owners stand to lose a lot if they aren't paying attention to what is important to their customers," said Duberg, an assistant professor of clinical laboratory science at St. Louis University and Tork Green Hygiene Council member.
"A simple change in practice, such as using single-use, nonwoven food service wipers to clean eating and cooking surfaces, can create a healthier work environment and a more positive consumer experience."
Duberg said that contrary to popular belief, cloth is not as hygienic as single use, nonwoven wipes when it comes to cleaning. Because cloth rags and cloth towels used for cleaning are generally kept in dark places and are not always completely dry before they are put away, they become the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Single-use wipers clean and then are discarded, she said.
If cloth must be used, Duberg suggested it should be sanitized by washing in hot (at least 160 degrees), soapy water.
