5 Ways To Implement A Positive Food Safety Culture

Managers of food processing facilities understand the importance of food safety, but getting employees to adopt these values is often the real challenge. Educating teams on food safety standards is important, yet true success comes when employees genuinely care about these standards. Implementing a positive food safety culture has proven to be one of the most effective ways to achieve this. Facilities that emphasize such a culture find that employees are happier and more committed to food safety. So, what is food safety culture, and why is it so essential? In this article, you'll discover what food safety culture entails and five expert tips for implementing it successfully.

What Is Food Safety Culture?

There are many definitions for what Food Safety Culture can look like. The masters of food safety over at Navitas Safety help simplify this definition in their blog, 6 Ways To Create a Positive Food Safety Culture.

"Food Safety Culture is all about how an organization values their food safety. It’s super important that the values are shared by management and employees alike. An organization with a strong positive food safety culture demonstrates to its employees and customers that making safe food is an important commitment." (Gerard Burden, Navitas Safety).

We couldn’t agree more! Valuing food safety is fundamental, but without team-wide alignment, the culture is compromised. As Navitas Safety explains, managers must go beyond basic training, fostering shared values in employees and proving to customers that food safety is upheld at every stage.

The Benefits of Improving & Prioritizing Food Safety

By prioritizing food safety in your food processing facility you can improve your brand value, increase levels of performance, and even gain a competitive advantage. There are many benefits to food safety, especially for businesses of all sorts of sizes! A recent study from BRCGS revealed that "60% of consumers increase[d] focus on food safety post-COVID". (BRCGS). Consumers are getting smarter about food safety and for businesses to establish brand confidence with these types of consumers, food safety must be a top priority. 

How Can Food Safety Be Improved?

A great way to continuously improve food safety is through establishing a positive food safety culture. There are many different techniques businesses can use to help implement and maintain a healthy food safety culture. We've compiled a list of the top 5 tips for implementing a positive food safety culture. These tips come directly from experts in food safety! 

Experts Share 5 Ways To Implement A Positive Food Safety Culture

Tip #1: "Model an Upstream Food Safety Cultural Framework" (International Food Safety & Quality Network, 2021)

A goal without a plan is just a dream. This couldn't relate more to food safety! The first step to creating a positive food safety culture is to build a solid foundation in regards to the structure, organization, and implementation plan for food safety compliance. The International Food Safety & Quality Network recommends creating an organizational structure that will help aid in managing your organizational resources. An organizational structure will help you define your vision for food safety compliance while allowing you to check in, accomplish, and redefine your food safety goals continuously. Having a defined plan set in motion will allow you to efficiently meet and exceed food safety requirements. As mentioned the article "Uncovering the Strategies to Establish Food Safety Culture in Food Service Facilities" written by Simon from the International Food Safety & Quality Network; has detailed documentation that outlines all processes, instructions, procedures, and reports that are required to ensure food safety, you will be setting yourself up for success. This organizational structure will help to keep you accountable and will enable you to set a good example for your employees. This will help keep them educated, informed, and safety-focused.

The Biggest Determent To Food Safety Culture: Employee's Fear Of Failure 

Modeling good food safety practices also means addressing the fear of failure. When employees fear punishment for reporting issues, like potential contamination, they’re less likely to come forward—working against a positive food safety culture. Employees need a safe environment to report any health and safety concerns without fearing blame or job loss. Ignoring this can lead to far costlier problems if contaminated products leave the facility.

As the International Food Safety & Quality Network suggests, “Food service leaders must develop a competency model by identifying root causes of food safety failures, defining key processes, and establishing clear reporting structures.” Implementing structured reporting and reward systems can encourage safe food handling and foster a culture that prioritizes food safety, rather than punishing errors.

Finding the Root Cause of Contamination

Identifying the root cause of contamination is essential. Speak directly with employees involved to understand contributing factors—like absent team members or unusual activity around the time of the incident. Employees’ insights are invaluable for preventing future incidents.

Standardizing Procedures

A strong food safety culture is supported by standardized procedures that minimize human error. For example, using automatic lubrication for equipment reduces downtime and decreases the risk of error, helping to maintain consistent food safety standards.

Tip #2: "Provide Ongoing Food Safety Training For All Staff" (FSR Magazine, 2017). 

When it comes to baking safely & fostering a positive food safety culture, ongoing employee training is key. In order to get employees in food processing facilities to understand and uphold safety procedures, managers must explain the importance of why these strict rules and regimes are followed. However, training should not be given with a one-and-done mindset. Employees in food processing facilities should receive recurring training and guidance on food safety standards and procedures. Just as you should be regularly checking in on how you are maintaining food handling and storage procedures, food facility managers should check in with employees and ensure that they are still upholding safety procedures as tightly as the day they first started. Take it from the experts over at FSR Magazine!  

''Food safety training and education should be an ongoing effort. Train new employees immediately and emphasize why food safety is—and will continue to be—a huge priority for your organization. Provide continuous updates and refresher courses for all staff to keep the food safety “rules” top-of-mind." (FSR Magazine, 2017).

Without proper training and guidance, a positive food safety culture cannot exist. The first step to getting employees to continually value food safety starts with you!  

Tip #3: "Use Record-Keeping To Ensure That Food Safety Culture Is Well Documented And Data Driven" (Food Safety Tech, 2015).

Keeping your facility's records organized is essential to a positive food safety culture. Without an organized system, you will likely lose track of when you last trained employees on food safety when you last received an updated SDS, and more. These are essential documents to keep updated in the event of an audit. All food processing facility managers dread SQF, BRC, and GFSI audits. Tracking down those piles of old files seems like a mission for mission impossible himself. However, having a clean, organized space for your records will make audits a breeze and will set a positive example for other employees in your facility. Sounds easy right? Well, if it were, record-keeping wouldn't be a daunting task for so many of us in the industry. Take tips from the experts over at Food Safety Tech! 

"Collect the data that is measurable and non-subjective to help drive continuous improvement. If you collect it, you must do something with it. Good documentation is imperative to prove you did what you said you were going to do, especially in the event of an audit. Be stringent in training, and review all documentation before it hits the file cabinet to ensure it is accurate and appropriate." (Food Safety Tech, 2015).

We couldn't have said it any better ourselves! 

Tip #4: "Make [Food Safety Culture] Part Of The Mission" (Quality Assurance & Food Safety, 2021).

Make food safety a part of each individual's mission. The experts over at Quality Assurance & Food Safety know that food safety isn't a one-size-fits-all concept. This theory is much more complex than that. Given the varying roles of each of the members within many departments at a food facility, it is recommended that Food Safety Culture be broken down in ways that are unique to each individual employee. 

"While the practical processes and implementations are handled by a company’s food safety team, the idea of food safety doesn’t have to rest on their shoulders alone. “While food safety doesn’t need to be mentioned in the vision and mission statements themselves, its importance should be reflected in all of the company’s communications including its website and corporate annual reports,” said Marie-Claude Quentin, senior technical manager at GFSI. “It should also be key to internal communications which should occur regularly, be tailored to the organization’s various audiences and should be measured for effectiveness.” Some ways to do this might include posters, meetings, briefings or even competitions, awards and recognition." (Quality Assurance & Food Safety, 2021).  

Tip #5: "Conduct Food Safety Culture Assessments" (Canadian Institute of Food Safety, 2019).

So you've been implementing ways to foster a positive food safety culture....now what? Well, without measuring your progress there is no way of knowing if your changes have been effective. It's time to conduct a food safety culture assessment! The experts at the Canadian Institute of Food Safety have great tips for how you can measure your success with your food safety culture journey. "Some examples of what and how you can measure are: observing employee behavior when following standard procedures, reviewing health inspection reports, evaluating the frequency of customer complaints and how they were resolved, and assessing employee understanding of food safety goals and priorities of the company." (Canadian Institute Of Food Safety, 2019).

The Role Of H1 Lubricant

You've read tips from the experts in Food Safety Culture, now it's time to learn about an aspect of food safety you may have not considered until now. Safe industrial lubricant practices. That's where we come in! Here at Chain Guard, we are experts in providing high-quality, premium food-grade lubricants for an array of applications. Our mission is to help food processing facilities keep chains moving and #BakeSafe by using NSF-approved H1 Food Grade Lubricant. You might be asking yourself...how does food-grade lubricant relate to food safety culture?! It is more important than you think. Take it from the experts over at Plant Engineering.

“The need to focus on food safety now is growing. Lubricants used in production processes offer the possibility of cross-contamination into food. The growing concern for food-safe lubricants raises questions about whether food safety regulations and standards also apply to food grade lubricants and how food manufacturers meet operational requirements without introducing new chemical hazards.” (Plant Engineering, 2021).  

Food-grade lubricant is often overlooked when discussing Food Safety Culture, but it is as critical as ever to ensure the product your facility is producing is safe for consumption. Ensure that all staff working on the production lines and/or helping to maintain your facility's equipment are thoroughly trained on the importance of food-grade lubricant and know the correct procedures when it comes to safe lubricant handling and storage. Click here for the Top 7 Tips for BRC Compliance on Safe Lubricant Handling and Storage in Food Facilities.  

"Food Safety Culture Starts With You" (The Consumer Goods Forum - GFSi, 2021).

The consensus among all the experts included in the blog is that food safety begins with those who enforce food safety standards. It is up to us as managers to continually look for ways to train, motivate, and lead the employees in our food processing facilities to succeed in food safety.  

"Even a simple, personal interaction can be the best way to connect. Leaders who do a walk-around, have an open-door policy, or sponsor “open talks” enforce a thriving culture." (GFSi, 2021).  

The most detrimental aspect of fostering a positive food safety culture does not involve the employees, but rather the managers whose values must be deeply rooted in the food safety culture themselves. Let's work together to #BakeSafe and make the food processing industry safer than ever before. Connect with us on Linkedin to stay updated on the latest industry information and to learn more ways you can #BakeSafe.