Food Safety
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Safety
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • White Papers
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
    • Contamination Control
    • Food Types
    • Management
    • Process Control
    • Regulatory
    • Sanitation
    • Supply Chain
    • Testing and Analysis
  • PODCAST
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Food Safety Five Newsreel
    • eBooks
    • FSM Distinguished Service Award
    • Interactive Product Spotlights
    • Videos
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MORE
    • ENEWSLETTER >
      • Archive Issues
      • Subscribe to eNews
    • Store
    • Sponsor Insights
  • WEBINARS
  • FOOD SAFETY SUMMIT
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
ManagementCulture

Global Food Safety Culture: Latin America

Latin America leans toward indirect, high-context communication and relationship-based culture

By Lone Jespersen Ph.D., John David, Sophie Tongyu Wu Ph.D.
food safety culture

Image credit: Sunan Wongsa-nga/iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

October 11, 2022

Panelists Michele Fontanot, Ph.D. (Professional Service Manager, 3M Latin America), Paola Lopez (Quality Assurance Manager, Sigma), and Lone Jespersen, Ph.D. (Cultivate, Switzerland) identified three key characteristics on the food safety culture in Latin America region: a culture of caring, empowerment, and authentic food safety culture as a competitive advantage.

Culture of Caring

A deep sense of "culture of caring" prevails in Latin America. This relationship-based culture, with its relatively indirect, high-context communication (Figure 1), signals the importance of trust-building at work. As one panelist described, building relationships and coordinating teamwork are like dancing. Cultivating food safety culture is to foster a sense of team, create innovative teamwork, nurture meaning and relevance about food safety in everyone, and consequently transform food safety culture to a natural way of life. Since people's learning styles differ, it is important to respect the differences and work on the similarities. As the webinar panelists noted, "A quality system must have elements that encourage a sense of belonging."

FIGURE 1. Cultural Characteristics of Six Latin American Countries and the U.S

Cultural Characteristics

While a trusting food safety culture can be a competitive advantage, this relationship-centric culture could, on the other hand, encumber opportunities for challenging food safety as a team. Therefore, ways to critically discuss food safety can be integrated into work relationships.

The Latin American countries are also relatively flexible in time management. They lean toward "principle first," indicating the preference of learning about concepts and principles before adoption, unlike the U.S., one of their biggest trading partners (Figure 1).1 

Indeed, it is important to understand the culture of one's customers in a globalized world. Given that regional cultural characteristics play a role in developing food safety culture, keeping the cultural differences in mind can help foster trust and relationships in working with global customers.

Importance of Empowerment

Empowerment and encouragement are fundamental in cultivating food safety culture in the Latin American region. The organizational culture is meant to support everyone in the ownership of their role—via teaching them the knowledge, developing their skills, giving them time to mature, and importantly, connecting the responsibilities as a network. As a result, people understand how they fit together in the food safety system and in the workflow; this sense of personal relevance, in turn, evokes pride in what they are doing.

Dr. Michele Fontanot recounted an anecdote at her previous employer, where, to help the frontline own the process, she engaged the operations teams and supervisors in building their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan. Traditionally, however, the food safety and quality (FSQ) team held exclusive ownership to the HACCP plan. Although it took three years to revamp the system, the revised flow worked well, and the frontline was able to take responsibility of their line and the products. Indeed, food safety is not framed around punitive measure; its value is rooted in encouraging people to find ways to improve and giving power to make them stronger.

Authentic Culture as a Competitive Advantage

While food safety is not a competitive advantage, food safety culture is. A 2014 study2 found that 54 percent fewer mistakes were made in the business of a mature culture, leading to lower cost of quality, including prevention cost (e.g., process equipment preventative maintenance and employee training), appraisal cost (e.g., food safety and quality audits), internal failure cost (e.g., waste and rework of products), and external failure cost (e.g., product withdrawal and recall).

Two motivators are found in food safety culture in the Latin American region: authenticity and competitive advantage. Giving authenticity to food safety culture starts from the leaders, who set this vision in business expectations (Figure 2). As most FSQ decisions are made by the FSQ teams, it is necessary to plant food safety in the strategic initiative in the business leadership. Behaviors and systems should align with the organizational culture and company's food safety message, and leaders should promote food safety meanings on a daily basis (Figure 3). A FIRST model (Fundamentals, Infrastructure, Risk analysis, Scorecard, and Training) helps identify and evaluate quality culture, as well as capture mindset, skills, and infrastructure.

FIGURE 2. Principles of Authentic Quality Culture

Principles of Authentic Quality Culture

FIGURE 3. Align Behaviors with Quality Culture

Align Behaviors with Quality Culture

Being a crucial player in the global food chain inspires Latin American countries to pursue positive food safety culture as a competitive advantage to help fulfil their duty. As the industry grows with the market, there is a rising need to standardize food safety culture language among Latin American countries—i.e., what food safety culture means, and what is expected from each person. The lack of a common language renders double standards facing local and global markets. Recalling "authentic quality culture" (Figure 2), there is a need to create an integrated management system, to maximize productivity along with food safety and quality. It is not only about training and audits, but also "teamwork like a choreographed dance." This emphasizes shared responsibility across and throughout the organization so that everyone has a role in food safety, owns the process, and aligns with the company's expectations—or tengo, sé, puedo ("I have, I know, I can").

References

  1. Meyer, Erin. The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business. New York, New York: Public Affairs (2014).
  2. Srinivasan, Ashwin and Bryan Kurey. "Creating a Culture of Quality." Harvard Business Review. April 2014. https://hbr.org/2014/04/creating-a-culture-of-quality.

Lone Jespersen, Ph.D., is a principal at Cultivate, an organization dedicated to helping food manufacturers globally make safe, great-tasting food through cultural effectiveness. She has significant experience with food manufacturing, having previously spent 11 years with Maple Leaf Foods. Dr. Jespersen is also a member of the Food Safety Magazine Editorial Advisory Board.

John David is Global Scientific Marketing Manager at 3M. He holds a master's degree in molecular biology and genetics and a bachelor's degree in biological sciences, both from the University of Delaware.

Sophie Tongyu Wu, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Assistant at University of Central Lancashire and a member of Cultivate SA. She leads a food safety culture improvement project at ten UK food manufacturing companies to collect organization-wide feedback for targeted action. Dr. Wu holds a Ph.D. in food science and technology from Purdue University and a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

KEYWORDS: Latin America

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Lone jespersen

Lone Jespersen, Ph.D., is a published author, speaker, and the Principal and Founder of Cultivate SA, a Switzerland-based organization dedicated to eradicating foodborne illness, one culture at a time. Dr. Jespersen has worked with improving food safety through organizational culture improvements for 20 years, since she started at Maple Leaf Foods in 2004. She chaired the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) technical working group A Culture of Food Safety, chaired the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) professional development group Food Safety Culture, and was the technical author on the BSI PAS320 Practical Guide to Food Safety Culture. Dr. Jespersen holds a Ph.D. in Culture Enabled Food Safety from the University of Guelph in Canada and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Syd Dansk University in Denmark. She is a visiting Professor at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. Dr. Jespersen serves as Chair of the IFPTI board and as Director on the Stop Foodborne Illness board. She is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Food Safety Magazine and a member of the Educational Advisory Board of the Food Safety Summit.

 

John David is Global Scientific Marketing Manager at 3M. He holds a master's degree in molecular biology and genetics and a bachelor's degree in biological sciences, both from the University of Delaware.

Sophie Tongyu Wu is a Senior Research Assistant at University of Central Lancashire and a member of Cultivate SA. She leads a food safety culture improvement project at ten UK food manufacturing companies to collect organization-wide feedback for targeted action. Dr. Wu holds a Ph.D. in food science and technology from Purdue University and a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • people holding baby chicks

    Serovar Differences Matter: Utility of Deep Serotyping in Broiler Production and Processing

    This article discusses the significance of Salmonella in...
    Microbiological
    By: Nikki Shariat Ph.D.
  • woman washing hands

    Building a Culture of Hygiene in the Food Processing Plant

    Everyone entering a food processing facility needs to...
    Food Prep/Handling
    By: Richard F. Stier, M.S.
  • graphical representation of earth over dirt

    Climate Change and Emerging Risks to Food Safety: Building Climate Resilience

    This article examines the multifaceted threats to food...
    Contamination Control
    By: Maria Cristina Tirado Ph.D., D.V.M. and Shamini Albert Raj M.A.
Manage My Account
  • eMagazine Subscription
  • Subscribe to eNewsletter
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Website Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Food Safety Magazine audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Food Safety Magazine or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • mold
    Sponsored byIFC

    Tackling Mold Remediation in Food Processing Plants

  • a worker in a food processing plant
    Sponsored byLPS® DETEX®

    How a Beverage Facility Improved Food Safety and Compliance with Detectable Packaging Solutions

  • Two men standing in a produce storage facility having a discussion.
    Sponsored byOrkin Commercial

    Staying Compliant With FSMA

Popular Stories

smoked salmon in oil

Study Shows Food Type Significantly Affects Listeria’s Ability to Survive Digestion, Cause Sickness

FSM podcast

Ep. 197. Jatin Patel: Lessons Learned and Best Practices for Handling a Recall

close-up shot of nickel metal

New EU Maximum Levels for Nickel Now Apply to Dozens of Foods

Events

July 15, 2025

Hygienic Design Risk Management: Industry Challenges and Global Insights

Live: July 15, 2025 at 11:00 am EDT: From this webinar, attendees will learn the importance of hygienic design to ensure food safety and sanitation effectiveness.

July 22, 2025

Beyond the Binder: Digital Management of Food Safety

Live: July 22, 2025 at 3:00 pm EDT: During this webinar, attendees will learn best practices for the use of digital food safety management systems across industry and regulatory agencies.

August 7, 2025

Achieve Active Managerial Control of Major Risk Factors Using a Food Safety Management System

Live: August 7, 2025 at 2:00 pm EDT: From this webinar, attendees will learn about changes to the FDA Food Code, which now includes a requirement for FSMS. 

View All

Products

Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

See More Products
Environmental Monitoring Excellence eBook

Related Articles

  • zoom meeting

    How to Adapt Food Safety Culture Efforts to Functional Ways of Working

    See More
  • man wearing a hard hat

    Where Food Safety Systems and Culture Collide: Do You Know Your Company's Psychosocial Risks?

    See More
  • planning with post-its

    Food Safety Culture Collaboration: Are Regulators Adapting and Catching Up?

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • 1119053595.jpg

    Food Safety for the 21st Century: Managing HACCP and Food Safety throughout the Global Supply Chain, 2E

  • global food.jpg

    Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

  • 0813808774.jpg

    Improving Import Food Safety

See More Products

Related Directories

  • Xcluder - Global Material Technologies

    Food processing companies and retailers around the world use Xcluder rodent and pest exclusion products to secure and protect their facilities. Xcluder’s product offering includes rodent-proof door sweeps and seals, fill fabric, and more—all made in America and safe to use around people, animals, plants, and food.
  • Magnattack Global

    Specialists with over 50 years of experience in foreign metal fragment control and magnetic separation solutions for the food and pharmaceutical industries worldwide. Magnattack offer powerful magnetic separation solutions and magnet validation services.
  • StateFoodSafety

×

Never miss the latest news and trends driving the food safety industry

eNewsletter | Website | eMagazine

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing