Food Safety Culture

What is Food Safety Culture?

Behaviour of management and employees are a reflection of company’s culture. Food safety culture is how everyone in a company thinks about and practices food safety. It is about having the right attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours to ensure that the food produced is safe to eat.

In a business with a strong food safety culture, employees have a commitment to making safe food with right knowledge, take ownership of their work as it is not always possible for business owners or managers to oversee everything and understand the consequences of things going wrong.

Food safety culture needs support from everyone in the organisation, from the bosses to the workers to create and shape this culture. This includes not only food handlers but also individuals in other roles such as maintenance, procurement, logistics, and other functions, as they all contribute to the overall food safety and culture.

GFSI defines Food Safety Culture as
“Shared values, beliefs and norms that affect mindset and behaviour toward food safety in, across and throughout an organisation^[1].”

Why Food Safety Culture is Important?

• Protect consumer from foodborne illnesses
• Strong employee morale and safe behaviour makes food safe even managers are not around
• Comply with regulations
• A trustworthy product and brand
• Prevent financial loss associated with recalls, wastes, legal fees, etc.

How to build a strong Food Safety Culture?

• Top management and leaders of various functions such as Operations, QA, Procurement, Maintenance, Logistics, Human Resource, etc. consistently prioritise and promote food safety, “walks the talk” setting a positive example for all employees.
• Define clear roles and responsibilities with everyone held accountable for their part in maintaining food safety.
• Establish policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to provide clear instructions for employees to follow for safe food production.
• Regular meeting and training sessions ensure all employees are up-to-date on the latest food safety practices and procedures.
• Encourage a mindset where food safety is seen as a priority and integral part of daily operations.
• Establish open channels for discussing food safety concerns without fear of retribution. Feedback is encouraged and acted upon.
• Regular internal and external audits to ensure compliance with food safety standards and continuously improves processes based on audit findings.

MEASURING THE FOOD SAFETY CULTURE

Measuring a business’ food safety culture helps you understand how your employees perceive the company’s food safety practices, and identify targeted areas for improvement.

The company could implement mechanisms for collecting anonymous feedback or survey from employees on food safety practices and subsequently review and update food safety policies and procedures, enhance the communication and training program based on the results.

Regularly measuring this culture allows you to track performance and see if it improves over time, ultimately building a positive food safety culture.

Conclusion

Building a positive food safety culture requires a concerted effort from all levels of an organisation. By demonstrating leadership commitment, providing education and training, involving employees, and maintaining consistent practices, an organisation can foster an environment where food safety is a top priority. Continuous improvement and positive reinforcement further strengthen this culture, ensuring the safety and quality of food products.

TÜV SÜD: Your Partner in Food Safety

TÜV SÜD is a globally recognised third-party certification service provider specialising in Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS). With a presence in over 1,000 countries, TÜV SÜD offers certification for a variety of internationally recognised food safety standards, including:

• ISO 22000: An international food safety management system standard by ISO follows a common high-level structure (HLS) framework for easy integration with other management system standards.
• FSSC 22000: Developed by Foundation FSSC and is one of GFSI recognised schemes. The standard is based on ISO 22000 with additional sector-specific prerequisite program and Foundation FSSC-specific requirements on food safety and quality. Food safety and quality culture requirement are now explicitly included in FSSC 22000 V6.
• HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points): The HACCP certification that primarily focuses on prerequisite program, HACCP principles and other management system elements.
• Other GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) recognised schemes such as BRC.

TÜV SÜD also provides training for FSMS, explore the courses here.

References:
1. A Culture of Food Safety by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)