Food Safety Culture

Food Safety Culture – The Starting Blocks

Food safety awareness is at an all time high on the island of Ireland with new and emerging threats to the food supply being detected on an ongoing basis, the fallout from Brexit and the recent well documented issues surrounding the 2 Sisters Food Group chicken factory in West Bromwich (see link below). 
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjeiJXByejXAhUpK8AKHZI5CIQQFghDMAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2017%2Fnov%2F03%2Fchicken-safety-scandal-2-sisters-factory-to-resume-production&usg=AOvVaw1HwTYXep7DdEJ580A3lDmh
 
As a food safety consultant I am always thinking of the risks in today’s food manufacturing environments and how I can improve the service that I provide to my clients. Am I just devising, creating and implementing quality systems to meet differing audit protocols or do I ensure that the business owner and their employees fully appreciate what they do?
 
Therefore I help them create values, attitudes, competencies and levels of behaviour that ensures the quality system is working in harmony with the bigger picture i.e. we are in the process of establishing a food safety culture.
 
As with all policies, procedures etc it starts at the top;
 

• Business owners need to lead this culture in what they say and do, “walk the talk”

 

• Employees need to be confident in what they do is correct

 

• Accountability, who continues to drive the culture, simple answer is everyone!

 

• Communication, what we say, when we say it, where we say it and how we say it

 

• Share knowledge what works well and what doesn’t this allows the culture to grow and develop, it is living, it is real life and its long term

 

• Keep learning from other industries, following best practice and again thinking of how this could be brought into a food manufacturing environment

 
In next week’s blog I shall highlight areas to measure how our food safety culture is performing. I always have the following in my mind when on client sites “how can I manage what cannot be measured”.
 
“PRIORITIES CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES. VALUES DO NOT” – GELLER 2005
 
REMEMBER FOOD SAFETY HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE NOT ON-SITE