- Joined
- Aug 15, 2015
- Messages
- 26,651
- Reaction score
- 5
His argument is correct.Right, which would make that burger low quality, yes? And with that in mind, when its discovered and publicized, who has the greater incentive to adjust the standard?
Quality is separate, for these purposes from safety. The two may intersect WHEN the safety issue proves to lead to sickness and the consumer can identify and punish offenders but that is not always the case. Food illnesses can manifest days or even weeks after consumption leaving identifying the source as problematic.
But that is not even the point. It is the 'preventative' measures that regulations address that are often gambles most restaurateurs and businesses might be willing to risk. Maybe its only 1 in a 100 restaurants that have ecoli issues due to improper storage and as such many are willing to risk not making the big expenditure for proper storage that is now required. You would say 'well then the market will punish them once enough people get sick and that restaurant is identified as the source' which is true but regulation attempts to ensure those instances never happen. we do not want reactive justice in this area where preventative maintenance can avoid most issues. You may then argue the 'fear' of being the 'next' one outed and busted may be enough of a deterrent but history does not bear that out as we see many who with thin economics or for other reasons are just willing to gamble they will not be the one with the problem. We consumers do not want to take that gamble with them. We want them red flagged by health inspectors so we know before we enter or shut down if they won't make the expenditures.
For instance Ontario started a very public rating system for restaurant compliance which must be posted in the front entry way in a visible spot for all customers to see with colour codes that allow a customer to quickly identify the safety issues the restaurant has been cited with so they can then decide if they want to dine there.
this system has lead to the wide scale clean up and change in handling of the industry because a conditional pass can be almost as bad as a 'closed' for business. Restaurateurs who are diligent ensure they maintain the highest standards now in those prior 'invisible to customer' areas where they could cut corners before and get away with it too often.