Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

A new study says restaurants have gotten more disgusting since the pandemic because of food safety

It's a pretty good reason to cook your own meals

By
Man washing hands
Sean Horsburgh/Unsplash

It now seems like ages ago we were all stockpiling Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer, Googling the best methods for hand washing and disinfecting things we never thought to disinfect before. We were suddenly appalled by ungloved hands, shared spaces, and anything that even hinted at the idea of a germ. I have a very vivid memory of shopping at Home Depot (one of the few stores that remained open in the spring of 2020) and running to the bathroom in order to hide a sneeze, lest I be forcefully removed from the store.

It was a weird time. And during that time, we all became super vigilant (obsessed?) with cleanliness. In our own homes, of course, but especially in public. Restaurants were no exception. For the fortunate few that were allowed to remain open, strict precautions were put in place. Contactless deliveries, plastic barriers, and cocktails-to-go in lieu of crowded bars became a normal part of restaurant operations.

Recommended Videos

But it’s been a minute since all of that initial fear drove us to masks and hazmat suits. And once that burden started to lift, life slowly crept back to normal. For better or worse, those strict rules started morphing into optional precautions, and our plexiglass walls started to crumble. But has the sweet relief of normalcy caused restaurants to not only drop the precautions but go back to even sloppier standards than before the pandemic? New research suggests that might just be the case.

Professional chef cooking in the kitchen restaurant at the hotel, preparing dinner. A cook in an apron makes a salad of vegetables and pizza
Xartproduction / Adobe Stock

The details of the study

Findings revealed at this year’s Nation’s Restaurant News Food Safety Symposium suggest that fighting through the COVID-19 pandemic has caused restaurants to slip considerably in food safety standards, which could amount to serious issues like food poisoning. The report analyzed two million restaurant inspections taken between September 2022 and September 2023, and the results weren’t great. Loveleen Lohia, customer success manager at Hazel Analytics, told Nation’s Restaurant News, “Health department inspection focus has shifted significantly. We analyze 255 health departments…and we’ve noticed that […] there has been an increase on the regulatory side on citing those violations much more than before COVID.”

Related

Handwashing, oddly enough, seems to be the worst offender, with nearly 6% of all inspections citing inadequate handwashing stations. Other top violations included sanitization of food contact surfaces (5.6%), a certified food protection manager present (4.4%), proper cold holding temperatures (3.7%), and food obtained from an approved source (3.5%).

While we can understand the relief at not having to comply with such strict health and kitchen safety standards as are required during a global pandemic, it is concerning that the crisis made things worse in the long run. And while we’re delighted to be back to enjoying the pleasure of dining out again these days, this report certainly makes us want to turn right back around and have dinner in tonight.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lindsay Parrill
Lindsay Parrill
Contributor
Lindsay is a graduate of California Culinary Academy, Le Cordon Bleu, San Francisco, from where she holds a degree in…
How to make food less salty: 5 easy fixes when you make this common cooking mistake
Don't toss it just yet, you can probably save it with...a potato?
Happy man adding salt while cooking for his friends in the kitchen.

Over-salting food is one of the most common culinary blunders, falling perhaps only just below one more common cooking crime - under-salting food. It's a finicky art, to be sure, and finding just the right balance can be tricky. After all, every palate is different, every dish unique, and recipes are often inconsistent. What does "season to taste" mean anyway, many wonder. While this term may be frustrating to those who prefer to follow a recipe down to the letter, it's really just a common phrase that means, "Everyone likes it differently, so just use your best judgment."
The problem with that mentality is that if you're new to cooking or really need to follow that recipe, mistakes can be made - often in the form of over-salting. After all, it's easy to get carried away when in chef mode, slicing and dicing away, fingers sinking into the briny granules inside the salt cellar, and dramatically raining the mineral down with skilled - albeit heavy-handed - expertise.
Over-salting food has gotten the better of us all, even those of us who are professionally trained, so there's no shame in the matter. Still, the mistake can be embarrassing and ruin all of your hard work in the kitchen. Nobody wants to spend hours lovingly preparing a meal only to be choking it down with a gallon of water because of a silly mistake.
If you're wondering how to make food less salty after you've already been too generous in your seasoning, there are some handy hacks you can use. So don't toss that dish just yet. Reach for one of these ingredients, and you'll be back on track in no time.

Acid

Read more
Black tea vs. green tea: Which offers more benefits?
Comparing black tea and green tea
red teapot and white cup on wooden table outside with green trees in background

Today, most drinks usually have way too much added sugar and other questionable ingredients. Unless it’s sugar-loaded, tea is considered a healthier alternative to many of the beverages out there. Tea lovers look forward to a nice, soothing, warm cup of black tea at the start or end of a long day. Other tea people prefer a nice, cool, and refreshing green tea poured over ice. Whether you prefer green or black tea, you might be wondering about the benefits, what the research shows, and which type of tea provides more benefits. 

What is black tea?
Black tea is a beverage derived from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant species that originated in China. The different types of black tea are often mixed with other plants to achieve distinct flavors, such as Earl Grey. It’s called black tea because the leaves are left to oxidize in the air before being processed, turning them a darker color. Black tea has a more potent flavor that it has retained for several years, and it’s one of the most consumed beverages around the globe.

Read more
Bacon and eggs? Bobby Flay serves this meat instead (and we have thoughts)
There's nothing better than bacon. Or is there?
Big breakfast with bacon, bagels and scrambled eggs on the table overhead

Love him or hate him, Bobby Flay is one of the biggest celebrity chefs in the world, and he's probably taught us all a thing or two about cooking. I remember being in culinary school and the instructor asking a fellow student why he'd chosen to enroll. My eager classmate had a two-word reply, "Bobby Flay." Admittedly, his response warranted a few eye-rolls around the room, but the guy was passionate about cooking because of Flay, and there's something wonderful in that. And according to Facebook, that old classmate of mine is now an executive chef at a fantastic San Francisco restaurant. So, thanks, Bobby.

If you can get over the haughtiness, Bobby Flay is a tremendously talented chef, in part due to his ability to give ordinary dishes a special touch. He has a gift for adding unexpected ingredients that transform a dish completely or giving a new spin to a cooking technique that turns out to be a total game-changer. According to a recent TikTok video, the Iron Chef's desire to be different translates to his breakfast table as well. While bacon and eggs are the quintessential American breakfast pairing, Flay prefers an alternative to bacon - pan-fried prosciutto. Yum.

Read more