Food Safety Culture
What is food safety culture and what does it look like? Good question.
It's kind of like that old quote regarding art. Many people have been attributed, but that doesn't really matter.
"I don't know much about art, but I know what I like."
Personally, I like the Monty Python take on the subject...
Food safety culture is the same. You will know it when you see it.
That's why is it rarely something that is audited. It's too abstract, it's too hard to measure.
Besides, if you want to make someone mad, tell them they don't have it.
So, what does it look like? I can only tell you what I look for.
A good food safety culture has certain "tells" I look for.
- People who are engaged and interactive. They care.
- People on the floor look you in the eye and are curious as to what you are doing in their plant.
- A Quality Manager who has plans for the future and can show me what she wants to do.
- A Plant Manager who listens more than he talks in our meetings.
- A clear budget for food safety and Key Performance Indicators tied to it.
But perhaps the most important is quality activities are NOT the sole responsibility of the Quality Manager. Failures in the facility are not a "quality issue" to be laid at her feet.
The facility team understands that quality is a measure of what the consumer wants and the Quality Manager is their representative and not the person who gets blamed if something goes wrong.
That's why it's a hard thing to measure, with very few metrics, and a lot of people evaluation.
But, I know a food safety culture when I see it.
Bryan
Founder, The Food Safety Foundation