Restaurant bans doggy bags over food poisoning fears
Over in New Zealand, the Social restaurant in Paraparaumu, lying on the Kapati Coast on the North Island near Wellington, has decided to ban its customers from taking a doggy bag home.
The proprietors have put the decision down to health and safety risks.
The restaurant is concerned about the liability that might come if you let customers leave with food that might give them food poisoning.
Owner Dominque Parat says customers are often reminded if their eyes are bigger than their stomachs and order seems bigger than what they can chew,
"We are quite cautious about it," Mr Parat told the New Zealand Herald.
"If we see they are ordering too much we mention it to them and we say we don't do doggie bags.
"The food's already been sitting on the table for about an hour, then you get a doggy bag, then it sits for half an hour on the table, sits in the car, then gets eaten a couple of days later.
"I don't want to risk food poisoning."
The issue would be particularly acute these days in the new environment of social media and online reviewing. Any accusation of food poisoning with one or two bad reviews could put a restaurant out of business.
The Social is not the only restaurant doing it.
According to the New Zealand Herald, there’s a similar policy at 24 of the 30 most popular fine-dining restaurants and at eight of the 30 most popular dining restaurants in Wellington.
Needless to say, it hasn’t gone down that well with the public. Some say not letting people take food home with them is wasting good food. Even if it means giving it to their dog or cat. In any case, some might feel they have paid the money, they’re entitled to do what they want.
In the end, restaurants are not required to give doggy bags. It’s the decision of the individual business.
by Leon Gettler, 6th October 2016
