Family-owned restaurant franchises receive health code violations more frequently than their corporate-owned or single-owner counterparts, according to a new study led by Mississippi State University researchers. The findings also showed that corporate-owned franchises fared the best in terms of health and food safety.
Drawing data from public franchise disclosure documents, the Mississippi State-led research team analyzed health code violations for nearly 1,500 quick-service restaurants across the U.S. Southeast, categorizing establishments as single-owner (owned by one person), family-owned (owned by two or more members of the same family), or corporate-owned (owned by a parent company).