How do you create a food safety culture?

The EU has determined that every company that processes food must establish and promote a food safety culture among its employees. Companies must be able to ensure that their employees develop a comprehensive awareness of the safe production of food.

Taking measures to avoid the contamination of food is part of the DNA of the food industry. In recent years, it has been shown that a practiced food safety culture strengthens companies when it comes to safe food. The EU also emphasizes this by adding a corresponding passage to the Hygiene Regulation.

The food safety culture is intended to raise employee awareness. They should develop a thorough understanding of the importance of food safety and learn to recognize and manage risks in their work processes. “It is surprising how many employees are not fully aware that mistakes or negligence in production can, in the worst case, lead to food poisoning,” says Oliver Eck, a food safety expert at TÜV NORD and head of the Business Entity Food. This endangers not only consumers, but also the company and jobs.

One key factor in this lack of awareness is the educational background of the employees. In companies with a predominantly trained staff in the food sector, the food safety culture is often taken for granted. The situation is different in large companies with many unskilled or semi-skilled employees who often speak little or no German. In this case, it is crucial to take into account the language skills and level of training of the employees. “Instructions and notices must be written in a barrier-free manner so that they are effective and requirements are met,” emphasizes Eck.

In accordance with the EU regulation, every company in the industry must establish a food safety culture among its employees and monitor its effectiveness. The requirements vary depending on the type and size of the company: “An international corporation with thousands of employees will have to take more extensive measures than a small snack bar around the corner,” says Eck. However, one thing applies to all of them: food safety culture is a management task. The responsibility cannot be delegated downwards from the company management. “It is the job of the company management to ensure that risks in the production processes are identified and that suitable control measures are implemented,” explains Oliver Eck.

Raising employee awareness

To raise employee awareness of food safety, further training and education on hygiene standards and safety protocols are necessary. Awareness-raising activities such as 'foreign body hunting days', where employees walk through the production area to identify risks of foreign body contamination, and training videos that are played where employees often spend time, help to raise employee awareness. 'It is also important to have a culture in which mistakes are discussed and dealt with. Workers must not be afraid to report mishaps, mistakes or problems,” explains Eck.

An audit is also carried out to check whether the measures are working. Among other things, the EU requires that employees' awareness of food safety be raised. For example, employees in production are asked how they react when they notice something or experience problems in production. “You can often tell from the tone of conversation in the company how the implementation is going. Supervisors who interrupt their employees or tell them what to do is not a good sign,” says Eck. Supplemented by hard facts such as the complaint rate and the number of complaints, a clear picture quickly emerges.