Food safety practices among selected casual dining restaurants: A basis in achieving customer satisfaction

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the compliance of selected casual dining restaurants in Makati City on food safety and sanitation based on the Presidential Decree No. 856 also known as the Sanitation Code of the Philippines and Service Quality Standards shown in previous research. Specifically, to determine the casual dining restaurant's food safety practices in terms of personnel hygiene, food serving and food handling, and assess the sanitation practices in casual dining restaurants in terms of restrooms, establishment exteriors and dining room experiences in order to achieve customer satisfaction. Descriptive-Evaluative research was utilized to conduct this study. The respondents were 303 guests that has dined at least twice in 10 different casual dining restaurants that have been operational for 10 years in the municipality of Makati. Through personally administered questionnaires, the researcher tabulated the result of the data gathered using SPSS v. 21, frequency distribution and percentage, to describe the profile of the respondents. Weighted mean is utilized to determine personnel hygiene, food safety and sanitation practices of the casual dining restaurants. And Pearson's Product Correlation is used to attain the significant relationship of the variables.Results identified that based on the respondent's assessment, they strongly agreed that casual dining restaurants were able to apply and follow standard procedures in terms of food safety and sanitation. However, there are certain indicators that require additional attention or polishing to achieve a more positive dining experience for customers. An action plan for continuous restaurant operation enhancement was proposed.