Irish urged to complain about 'poor' restaurants

The body charged with upholding standards is urging consumers to break with the culture

here and complain about bad service in restaurants.

Martin Higgins, chief executive of Safefood, says consumers should not settle for anything less than the best on their night out.

He made his comments in the wake of the publication of a study which revealed that one in three people on the island of Ireland are concerned about hygiene in sandwich bars.

The cleanliness of food premises, the kitchen and the staff topped the list of hygiene aspects causing consumers concern.

More and more food is now consumed outside the home, with delis making up a substantial part of the market.

The findings show that 61% of people purchase lunch outside the home, but more than half of consumers on the island of Ireland were reluctant to speak out if they were unhappy with food hygiene standards and the food safety chief wants all that to change.

Endorsed by the National Consumer Agency and the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, a new "Speak Out" campaign aims to raise the overall standards of food hygiene in food outlets on the island of Ireland.