Food Safety Culture- After COVID What Changed?

It was in a March 20, 2018 post, I suggested; "The future of Food Safety is encapsulated in hope, curiosity and optimistic Scientific Advancements, infused with human interventions". The (Post) went on stating, ?"It was during a recently Blog/Global Food Safety Resource? ?-Food Safety Webcast,?with?Frank Yiannas , “What Are the Key Elements Required to Establish a Food Safety Culture[i] ?”.?About midway in the discussion,?Frank Yiannas, speaks of a conference in which “Scientific Based food safety experts”?questioning the importance?of “hard science"?and “soft science ".?Basically, the issue was being made the most important, “hard or soft sciences”, that best translate into effective food safety practices within our organization".?

Difference Hard & Soft Science Application

Hard Science, according to an article, (My Food Job Rocks! )"Majoring in Food Science. Notes, "The focus of Hard Science of Food Safety is on Chemistry and microbiology based. Food is composed of chemicals, like water and glucose and therefore we have to understand why chemical reactions happen the way they do. For example, why does fat oxidize and taste rancid and how does water freeze. These are fundamentally important and the deeper you understand this, the easier your life becomes in the food world".

While the Hard Science in vidal, the Soft Science; people, process and program applications make up "Behavioral Food Safety, and is what makes Food Safety Hard work! According to Food Science and Technology, GFSI Food Safety Culture Position Paper1 ?defines "food safety culture as ‘shared values, beliefs and norms that affect mindset and behavior toward food safety in, across and throughout an organization".

GFSI Food Safety Culture Position Paper go on to state, "Food safety is a shared responsibility and all employees have a role to play. Employees (staff in general), irrespective of their position within the company, need to understand how their actions can have an impact (positive or negative) on food safety (end quote).? These factors of soft science of Food Safety make up an organizations food safety plan, Train materials, training program and verification processes. GFSI Food Safety Culture Position goes on to state, "Organizations will also need to bear in mind that training is one of 20 dimensions that they need to address to drive a strong food safety culture – as described in the GFSI position paper and in the Culture Excellence model2 ?(see Figure?1)".?

1. GFSI position paper; Safety and quality culture – key dimensions to drive excellence

Food Safety Culture, After COVID

In a Food Safety Culture, After COVID, what changes? PREVENTING THE SPREAD involve both the hard science of facts and the soft science of organization policies, procedures that ensure staff compliance! It's true your facility might add to its' "UNIVERAL PRECAUTIONS" mask wearing, however the "hard science" to support continued making to prevent airborne outbreak, must supports your goal of preventing the spread.

When or if Staff, or if they come in contact with others that have or may have symptoms , it is necessary to require mask! While a facility may adopt the addition of mask to it's universal precautions, it will be determined facility by facility. It should be noted that currently CDC recommends Healthcare Providers require mask in their facilities. However the focus remains on "Preventing The Spread"! According to CDC, Plan, Prepare, and Respond are the keys to an effective plan.

1. Long Term Care Facilities , The goal is?to continue to protect those who are disproportionately affected by COVID-19—especially residents of LTC settings. All LTC settings that request assistance accessing COVID-19 vaccines for their residents and staff will receive the support they need.
2. Hospitals, Emergency Departments & Urgent Care Facilities , Hospitals, emergency departments (EDs), and urgent care facilities (UCs) in the United States can play an influential role in building confidence in and improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake, as healthcare providers are the most trusted source of health information.
3. Schools, Child Care, and Colleges , Strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and maintain safe operations in schools, child care programs, and institutions of higher education. K-12 Schools , ECE/Child Care Programs , Colleges, Universities, and Higher Learning

Cleaning, Disinfecting, and Ventilation

When and how to?clean and disinfect your facility. Guidance for building ventilation and non-emergency vehicles. The virus that causes COVID-19 can land on surfaces. It’s possible for people to become infected if they touch those surfaces and then touch their nose, mouth, or eyes. In most situations, the?risk of infection from touching a surface is low . The most reliable way to prevent infection from surfaces is to?regularly wash hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer . Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces can also reduce the risk of infection.

Cleaning with products containing soap or detergent reduces germs on surfaces by removing contaminants and decreases risk of infection from surfaces. If no one with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 has been in a space?cleaning once a day is usually enough ?to remove virus that may be on surfaces. This also helps maintain a healthy facility.

Disinfecting using?U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s List N disinfectants external icon kills any remaining germs on surfaces, which further reduces any risk of spreading infection. You may want to either clean more frequently or choose to disinfect in addition to cleaning in shared spaces if the space:

• Is a high traffic area, with a large number of people.
• Is?poorly ventilated .
• Does not provide access to handwashing or hand sanitizer.
• Is occupied by people at?increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 .

If a sick person or someone who tested positive for COVID-19 has been in your facility within the last 24 hours, you should clean?AND?disinfect the space.

Protect Yourself and Other Cleaning Staff

• Ensure cleaning staff are trained on proper use of cleaning and disinfecting products.
• Read the instructions on the product label to determine what safety precautions are necessary while using the product. This could include personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, glasses, or goggles, additional ventilation, or other precautions.
• Wash your hands ?with soap and water for 20 seconds after cleaning. Be sure to wash your hands immediately after removing gloves.
• If hands are visibly dirty, always wash hands with soap and water.
• If soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly dirty, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, and wash with soap and water as soon as you can.
• Special considerations should be made for people with asthma. Some cleaning and disinfection products can trigger asthma. Learn more about?reducing your chance of an asthma attack ?while disinfecting.

MANAGING the Ever-Changing Dynamics

This is not the first time I have seen this?questioning “Food Safety Culture Process”?or?the?attitude of compliance?to?“Norms”?that come with programs, personal professional certifications.?I reference this notion in a 2012 Blog Post, “When Food Safety Schemes Don’t Work”, updated May 2016 “Making Food Safety Your Workplace Culture [iv] ”.?In these Post, I point out (MANAGING the Ever-Changing Dynamics),?Food Safety Cultures?must “infuse organizational process” focused on “MANAGING the Ever-Changing Dynamics”?that threatens organizational process, growth and or brand.?Training and certification programs are another necessary steps, yet even these factors are decreased in effectiveness when they are not developed around a specific culture.

Food Safety Culture & Hard Science

March 20, 2018 post went on to say; "It was from this exchange?Frank?further points out in his explanation, best Quoted from his site:?“Food Safety Culture” ?may be one of those terms that seem a little fuzzy or maybe even abstract...?It may be hard for us to objectively grab the concept. You might feel much more comfortable talking about specific microbes, food safety standards, and process controls.? We often consider these the?hard science.?You might feel less comfortable talking about terms related to organizational culture and human behavior – often referred to as the?“soft stuff,?(behavior sciences, culture,).”?However, if you look at foodborne disease trends over the past few decades, it’s clear to me that the?soft stuff?is?still?the?hard stuff [ii] ".

It's not HARD when everyone is healthy and safe!

Larry Bowe founder, and principal consultant of?Food Safety Navigator ?dba "Frontline of Food Safety "; authoring topics on “Establishing a Culture of Food Safety”.?Larry's focus is on “Building a Frontline Defense”, as well as offering tools that deliver “Just in Time Solutions ”, to include?Triple.Check?.3D Audits, available for on-site safety audits, training and prevention (available for online webinars as well as in-person classes). Food Safety Navigator goals are to offer online, downloadable content to assist industry stakeholder’s tools to “close the knowledge gaps”, as well as?correct poor performance?&?behavior of your front-line staff

Credits

Frank Yalesen- Food Safety Culture- https://www.biblio.com/food-safety-culture-by-yiannas-frank/work/788518

Global Food Safety Resource: https://globalfoodsafetyresource.com/what-are-the-key-elements-required-to-establish-a-food-safety-culture/

Understanding The Hard Science Food Safety: https://myfoodjobrocks.com/

Understanding The Soft Science of Food Safety: https://ifst.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsat.3301_6.x#fsat6_3301-bib-0001

GFSI Food Safety Culture Position Paper1 :

CDC Symptoms: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

CDC Risk of infection from touching a surface- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html

Making Food Safety Your Workplace Culture- https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/making-food-safety-your-workplace-culture-larry-david-bowe/