Emma Eversham of Big Hospitality writes that 66 per cent of respondents to a survey carried out on behalf of Checkit for its report The Financial Impact of Getting Food Safety Wrong cited bad food hygiene as a reason for not returning to a restaurant compared to 16 per cent of diners who said slow or bad service would put them off.

Of the 1,101 people surveyed, 75 per cent would never visit a food outlet implicated in a food poisoning or hygiene incident unless it had changed hands, highlighting the need for effective food safety management in restaurants looking to stay in business.

The type of venue made no difference, either, the research found with sandwich shops, pubs and fine-dining restaurants equally as likely to put-off customers if their food hygiene rating was two or below.

Checkit said: “Could your restaurant survive losing 75 per cent of its customers? At a time when information on issues can be easily shared on social media, reported to environmental health officers or through review sites, this demonstrates the real risk of poor hygiene to business survival.”