Beyond Food Safety Management Systems – Food Safety Culture

Food safety awareness is at an all-time high, new and emerging threats to the food supply are being recognized, and consumers are eating more and more meals prepared outside of the home.  Retail and foodservice establishments, as well as food producers at all levels of the food production chain, have a growing responsibility to ensure that proper food safety and sanitation practices are followed, thereby, safeguarding the health of their guests and customers.  Achieving food safety success in this changing environment requires going beyond traditional training, testing, and inspectional approaches to managing risks.  It requires a better understanding of organizational culture, behavioral science, and the human dimensions of food safety.

Think about it.  If you are trying to improve the food safety performance of retail or foodservice establishment, an organization with thousands of employees, or a local community, you must change the way people do things. You must change their behavior.  In fact, simply put, food safety equals behavior. 

While in today’s profession, the term food safety culture is often used, what does it really mean?  More importantly, are there proven, evidence-based ways to change or strengthen the food safety culture of an organization and influence employee behavior? The good news is the answer is YES! 

Come hear an interesting and innovative talk on how to create a food safety culture – not just a food safety program.