Content guide

Food safety when eating out

General appearance, reputation and appearance of staff are the top three criteria by which hygiene standards are judged. Less than two fifths referred to the hygiene certificate or word of mouth, and very few were using websites or social media.

*How do you judge the hygiene standards of the places you eat out at or buy food from? New question for W19 Base (all): W19: 1,009, W20: 1,010, W21: 1,019*
Information	W21	W20	W19
General appearance of premises	57%	57%	56%
Reputation	45%	47%	45%
Appearance of staff	42%	43%	41%
Hygiene certificate	39%	38%	38%
Word of mouth	34%	35%	35%
Hygiene sticker	26%	26%	25%
Social media	15%	15%	13%
Websites	14%	13%	14%
I don’t consciously do this	13%	14%	14%
Don't know	3%	3%	4%

Over two fifths said they had used the food hygiene information scheme (FHIS) over the last few months, this is a significant increase on last wave.

This is a certificate for a food hygiene information scheme in Scotland. In the last few months, have you used this food hygiene information scheme to check a food establishment's hygiene standards? Base (all): W19: 1,009, W20: 1,010, W21: 1,019.
	W21	W20	W19
Yes	45%	39%	40%
No	55%	61%	60%

The majority of those who had used it said that it influenced their decision on using an establishment.

And on that occasion how much influence did it have on your decision on whether or not to use that establishment? Base (all who used scheme): W19: 392, W20: 402, W21: 472
Level of influence	W21	W20	W19
A lot	47%	50%	50%
A little	44%	41%	42%
None	10%	9%	8%

Food in Scotland Consumer Tracker Wave 21 - Report

Consumer Tracker W21 Results by Demographics - For publishing

Content guide

Food safety when eating out