By approaching food safety culture (FSC) as organizational culture, a recent study funded by the Danish Agriculture Food Council has developed a Change Agent Model for FSC. The model illustrates the important underlying mechanisms that an individual or group can work through to become culture change agents and drivers for FSC development.

As part of an effort to promote food safety culture under the New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has commissioned a literature review to address overarching questions about the concept.

Food safety guiding principles are the same for all companies, but how they are used is dependent not only on the uniqueness of the company but also upon the biases and culture inherent to the company. The latter are often underestimated in their importance and impact. To address these topics, Food Safety Magazine recently hosted a webinar that featured a group of experienced senior leaders and a food safety culture expert as the panelists and moderator, which this article summarizes.

Intertek Alchemy and Cultivate have developed a new online food safety culture training program for food industry leaders to build and maintain an informed culture coalition within their organizations.

In recent years, the meaning of food safety has changed for many companies. It has grown from a team of professionals in charge of keeping a product safe to an ethos that defines how companies operate. In this exclusive eBook, we help move that conversation forward with industry-leading content that is both descriptive and prescriptive, helping you create a company culture that places safety at the heart of everything you do.

Panelists Michele Fontanot (Professional Service Manager, 3M Latin America), Paola Lopez (QA Manager, Sigma), and Lone Jespersen, Ph.D. (Cultivate, Switzerland), identified three prominent features around food safety culture in Latin America region: a culture of caring, empowerment, and authentic food safety culture being a competitive advantage. 

The Peanut and Tree Nut Processors Association's Industry Handbook for Safe Processing of Nuts is an industry-wide reference tool for training, development, and operations in any facility that handles nuts at any point in the supply chain. The latest edition includes an update to the Food Fraud section and the addition of two new sections: Food Safety Culture and Traceability.

During National Food Safety Month 2022, the experts at ServSafe, alongside the National Restaurant Association, will curate free content for the restaurant industry with a focus on “Food Safety at Every Level.”

Panelists Christian Blyth (Pathogen Specialist, 3M Canada), Marie Tanner (Senior Vice President of Quality, Dairy Farmers of America), and Lone Jespersen, Ph.D. (Cultivate SA) discuss three features that are prominent in North America's food safety culture: diversity of thought, proactive risk-based approach, and high adaptability. 

To lead from the local level for food safety, top executives must empower and authorize leaders to solve issues like food safety culture. The technical food safety team is best situated for this task. To build a sustainable food safety culture, it is essential to start with shifting and building the mindset of the technical leadership and honoring the well-being of this team.