Why having a Vibrant Food Safety/Quality Culture is Important to a Successful Business

Food Safety and Quality (FSQ) culture is the shared values, attitudes and behaviors within a business that prioritizes safe, high quality food production at every level.  Robust FSQ policies and procedures are the framework, and the Culture is the foundation on which they are built.  It starts with the top leadership and flows, uninhibited, to the team member level, to ensure that food safety and quality standards are constantly met thereby contributing to the overall success of the business.

Core elements:

·        Dedicated Leadership – leadership provides the support and resources that breathes life into the flourishing environment for the sustained FSQ culture.

·        Communication/Training – leadership communicates the elements of the food safety/quality culture to assure that all team members understand the importance and how they can contribute to its success.  This involves constant communication and reinforcement of the culture at the floor level, which includes addressing failures when they occur.  This is not an overnight process but takes time of unwavering commitment.

·        Team Member Commitment – when team members see the dedication from leadership and why it’s important they will gravitate towards supporting the culture.

·        Continuous Improvement (CI) – tying FSQ culture in with CI initiatives makes the system stronger.  There are many CI tools that provide objective data and information that allow the management team to gauge progression in this area including root cause analysis and practical, simple structure at the team member level.  CI programs also involve and capture important team member engagement metrics that can help management in this important journey.

In my years in food safety and quality, I have seen this performed well and not so well.  If a “flavor of the month” program, team members will not support it and will immediately know if leadership is truly committed to a Food Safety/Quality culture.  It takes time and must be constantly reinforced and supported at all levels.  The alternative to not investing in a vibrant FSQ culture can result in expensive recalls and loss of customers that lead to the destruction of company.  The cost and resources dedicated to a Food Safety/Quality culture well outweigh the result of not having one established.