Âé¶¹´«Ã½

Comment and Society

Our trust in society is eroding. We need to fight back

A recent scandal over food hygiene ratings shows how deception destroys trust within society. We need to fight back, says Jonathan R. Goodman

By Jonathan R. Goodman

20 November 2024

Âé¶¹´«Ã½. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Simone Rotella

Until a few weeks ago, I relied on restaurant hygiene ratings when deciding where to have dinner. The score – given by the UK’s Food Standards Agency – ranges from 0 to 5, where 0 indicates urgent improvement is required. It is traditionally a good predictor if you are fastidious – or if you just want to avoid nasty parasites like .

Yet in October, the BBC some businesses misrepresent their hygiene scores, posting a 5 when their ratings are as low as 0. The signal of hygiene I relied on wasn’t always reliable.

This was just one incident that had…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with Âé¶¹´«Ã½ events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, today with our introductory offers

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop