A strong food safety culture ensures that everyone, from managers to frontline employees, recognizes effective food safety practices. Using key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned to preventive controls drives accountability and continuous improvement in food safety at every operational level. In this edition of Food Safety Insights, we discuss the results of a survey we conducted of more than 170 food processors worldwide about their views on the food safety culture of their company.

To start with, what exactly is "food safety culture?" One commonly accepted definition of food safety culture comes from the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), which defines it as the "shared values, beliefs, and norms that affect mindset and behavior toward food safety in, across, and throughout an organization."¹

For another definition, and as reported here in Food Safety Magazine,² in 2022 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioned a literature review, with a total of 79 articles included, to better understand the general thinking on the concept of "food safety culture" and to develop a definition of the term. The article reported that the most common definition was, "the aggregation of the prevailing, relatively constant, learned, [and] shared attitudes, values, and beliefs contributing to the hygiene behaviors used within a particular food handling environment."²

These definitions show that food safety culture is clearly distinct from plans, programs, written food safety policies, or procedures. Food safety culture is the sum total of how people think and act when it comes to food safety, even when no one is watching. A strong food safety culture requires visible leadership commitment, clear communication, employee empowerment, and ongoing risk awareness and improvement.

Many articles and papers have been written about food safety culture, offering advice and instruction on how to build and improve food safety culture within a company. Here at Food Safety Insights, it is not our goal to tell you what you should or should not be doing, but for you to tell us what you are doing and why. To accomplish that, we conducted a survey in September of this year to find out more about your view of your food safety culture. We heard from more than 170 food safety professionals from around the world.

Food Safety Culture Ratings

We started with what we assume would be the obvious first question: "Do you think you have a good food safety culture?" A large majority of respondents (76 percent) (Figure 1) believe their company does indeed have a good food safety culture. We also asked for a more quantitative assessment by asking them to rank their culture on a 1–10 scale, with 1 being "poor" and 10 being "excellent." Aligning well with the general positive assessment discussed above, roughly two-thirds (Figure 2) ranked their program at a 7, 8, or 9, with the weighted average ranking of 7.2 out of 10, indicating a generally positive opinion of their programs.

Of those indicating that they have a good food safety culture, many mentioned having an environment where everyone knows their job and their impact on food safety. Some mention that while messages on signs like "Safety is everyone's responsibility" have been common for some time, they now have a recognition that "Food safety is everyone's responsibility," and that employees increasingly understand and accept that responsibility.

Many others mentioned that while they do indeed have a good food safety culture, they recognize that there is no time for relaxation or complacency. Most mentioned that they have to continually reinforce the message through ongoing training, messaging, and meetings, and many also reported that they conduct regular surveys with their employees to judge their attitudes and compliance and to get feedback on areas for improvement. Many cited this level of employee engagement as being a key part of the food safety culture "buy-in" process.

In reviewing the survey data, we also noticed that those with a higher opinion of their culture reported a high level of commitment from their senior management. One U.S. food safety manager mentioned, "We have leadership commitment, participation, and support. Operators are willing to ask questions and challenge the process. Training is provided to the entire company, not just the required people."

Another quality assurance and control manager at a dairy company indicated they were in an enviable position, writing, "The culture is very good here. We have a President/CEO who is trained in food safety, HACCP, and PCQI and is also an SQF practitioner. This really makes a difference, as he places a high priority on keeping the product and the workers safe."

Not everyone in the survey was so positive, however, with 22 percent saying that they lack an acceptable food safety culture. This group cited issues such as employees only following proper procedures when supervised, along with insufficient supervision and a lack of active measures to drive compliance and change. Several also mentioned a lack of management commitment, with food safety seen as a "task" or a "cost," and this complacency serving as a model for employees to follow (thereby creating an entirely different culture). Rather than generating tangible results, this type of culture leads to complaints about lack of resources, obstacles, or insufficient or inadequate communication to do the job right.

Management Commitment and Leadership

Those comments notwithstanding, and echoing the opinion of the majority, mostly we heard that that these food safety professionals have their management's commitment to drive and improve the culture. When asked if their management visibly demonstrates a commitment to food safety, 46 percent "strongly agree," and 40 percent "agree" (Figure 3). Representing a small minority, only 7 percent "somewhat disagree" and about 7 percent "strongly disagree" that they have that commitment.

Employee Comfort in Reporting Hazards

Another fundamental part of a robust food safety culture is how safe and confident employees feel in reporting hazards or non-compliances. If food safety is everyone's responsibility, as we mentioned earlier, then it is also everyone's responsibility to report deficiencies and problems without worrying about retaliation.

In this respect, our survey uncovered very good news. Overwhelmingly, 93 percent of those in our survey reported being comfortable with reporting food safety hazards both to their immediate management and to their company's senior/executive management (Figure 4). This indicates that most respondents have a company culture that supports escalation of issues, which is an essential aspect of food safety.

Recognition of Food Safety Successes

The culture of an organization—whether food safety culture or otherwise—is often evident and enforced through the way in which the group celebrates its successes and high-achieving employees. In this area, we see somewhat lower enthusiasm but still an overall positive response. About 62 percent reported regular celebrations or acknowledgments of food safety achievements, while 38 percent said they do not see this in their company. This disparity suggests that some organizations are missing key opportunities to reinforce positive safety behaviors, build employee role models, and enforce their culture. Methods of recognition vary, with some citing formal awards and others noting informal acknowledgments of effort and improvement.

This survey indicates a generally positive level of focus in most respondents' companies on establishing, developing, and maintaining a strong food safety culture. Many find that they have obstacles to that goal, but that they continue to strive for high standards—another feature of a strong culture.

It is also clear that there are opportunities for improvement, especially with regard to getting the deficient companies on board. It seems that the food safety professionals who read Food Safety Magazine and responded to our survey understand this, but they need help in recruiting management and employees to their cause. Hopefully, we will see improvements soon.

In the next Food Safety Insights column, we will kick off 2026 with more from this survey on the key performance indicators (KPI) that respondents have selected to measure and manage their operations. Look for those results in the February/March 2026 edition of Food Safety Insights.

References

1. Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). "A Culture of Food Safety: A Position Paper From the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)." April 11, 2018. https://mygfsi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/GFSI-Food-Safety-Culture-Full.pdf.
2. Food Safety Magazine Editorial Team. "Current Knowledge on Food Safety Culture According to FDA." Food Safety Magazine. December 12, 2022. https://www.food-safety.com/articles/8211-current-knowledge-on-food-safety-culture-according-to-fda.

Bob Ferguson is President of Strategic Consulting Inc. and can be reached at bobferguson9806@gmail.com or on X/Twitter at @SCI_Ferguson.