Our survey of food manufacturers on the meaning of food safety[1] revealed that food manufacturers have different definitions and wide variability in the words used to define food safety. As a follow-up, we interviewed 13 participants who completed the survey and volunteered to provide more insights into their interpretation of food safety.
All interviewees were from the U.S. and represented midcareer to late-career professionals in the food industry. Except for one interviewee, most participants have worked in the food industry for 11 years or more, and all interviewees have a managerial position with involvement in food safety or are responsible for food safety decisions. The demographics of the 13 interviews are summarized in Table 1. Table 2 shows the level of food safety training and food safety responsibilities for all interviewees.