Survey reveals UK restaurants lack health and safety knowledge

Three out of five restaurants in the UK admit to inputting false information into their health and safety, food safety and fire safety books in order to pass inspections, according to research.

A survey of more than 600 UK restaurants, by food safety consultancy Shieldyourself, also revealed that 65% only had one or two employees aware of their legal requirement and correct procedures that need to be implemented at their place of work on a daily basis.

Mark Flanagan, managing director at Shieldyourself, said:  “Most cases of food poisoning and health and safety incidents happen when the key individual, responsible for health and safety is out of the business.  

There is a clear lack of knowledge regarding such matters and the research shows that owners of restaurants are not concerned about only having one individual who is trained in health and safety.  

“All members of staff should be fully trained to ensure that in any situation, they are all fully equipped to deal with potential food safety issues, therefore not putting the rest of the team and customers at risk.”

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By Daniel Thomas

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