Kapiti restaurant The Social bans doggy bags in food poisoning fear

The Social restaurant in Paraparaumu has banned doggy bags citing concerns over food poisoning (file)
The Social restaurant in Paraparaumu has banned doggy bags citing concerns over food poisoning (file)

A Kapiti Coast restaurant has put a ban on allowing customers to take a doggy bag home.

The Social restaurant in Paraparaumu has put the decision down to health and safety risks that could harm their customers.

Co-owner Nikolai Smith says they were concerned over the liability of letting customers leave with food that might give them food poisoning.

"We made the decision not allow takeaway doggy bags because of the concern someone may take the food home, mishandle it, [and] get food poisoning but of course it's our food that gave them the poisoning. But it wasn't our cooking methods that made that occur," he says.

Mr Smith says that it is important they do what they can from their perspective to stop food poisoning occurring.

"With the new environment of social media and online reviewing you have to be very, very careful to try and avoid getting an accusation of food poisoning because it would only take one or two of those reviews for your business to be tanked."

Hospitality New Zealand's general manager of operations Tracy Scott says it isn't a requirement for restaurants to offer doggy bags and is up to the individual business to make that decision themselves.

"It's not a requirement under legislation to not give out doggy bags it's not considered a food safety issue its more good food safety practice," she says.

 "We do have sympathy for some of the operators because it's very easy for someone to take leftovers home and not store them correctly and if they eat it the next day or several days later and they end up [sick] then they are more than likely to go back to the restaurant and point finger at them."

Mr Smith says the restaurant is looking at reviewing their policy and possibly introducing a waiver or some sort of printed pamphlet to warn customers against the food poisoning hazard. 

Newshub.