Food safety culture

Cultural revolution

Courage over comfort

Background and Objective: Safety activities focus on reducing workplace risks, and very few activities focus on increasing organizational and safety culture. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational culture and safety at one of the largest automobile companies in the country. Materials and Methods: The current research was a correlational study that was conducted at a specific point in time. The statistical population of this research was the employees of paint and body salons of an automobile company. In total, 402 people were selected using the limited population sampling formula. The data collection tool, which was a questionnaire, had three sections, including demographic characteristics, organizational culture, and employee safety culture. In order to investigate organizational culture, a 29-question questionnaire based on the 10 indicators of the Robbins model was used, and for organizational culture, a 37-question organizational culture questionnaire was used. Results: The average age of the participants was 36.06±4.72 years, and the average organizational culture score in this industrial unit was 84.03±18.45. The correlation test showed the relationship between organizational culture and safety culture to be 0.652 and significant (P<0.001). In addition, 69.6% of observations were unsafe, and 30.4% were safe. No statistically significant relationship was found between unsafe behavior and demographic variables, except for age and work experience. Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between safety and organizational culture, and individual factors and management factors had the greatest impact on safety culture. Safety culture, as a part of the organizational culture structure in organizations and industries, focuses on occupational health and safety issues. Giving importance to the safety culture or any change in the work culture and attitude of the employees can help overcome the obstacles in the way of safety in the workplace.

Summary Food safety culture and climate are strong elements of food safety performance. This study describes a mixed‐methods approach to assess prevailing food safety knowledge, attitudes, practices, culture and climate in micro and small food manufacturing businesses in Mauritius. The approach included participant observation, questionnaire‐based surveys and checklists, and was adopted to collect data from six managers/owners and thirty‐six employees in six businesses. Results showed that food handlers had satisfactory knowledge in some aspects of food hygiene and safety. Mean scores of specific food safety climate indicators for employees diverged from the corresponding values for managers. Inconsistencies were observed in food safety culture maturity scores computed from survey data (quantitative), which were higher than related scores obtained from participatory observation (qualitative). This discrepancy underlines the importance of triangulation methods and the necessity to establish appropriate weightings for data obtained from different methods to gain an overall assessment of food safety culture. The results provide concrete input to develop tailor‐made interventions to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices of employees and managers, and promote positive food safety cultures. Further research is needed to design theory‐based interventions to improve food safety culture and interpretation grids to analyse and triangulate prevailing food safety culture data.

Purpose – The concept of food safety organizational culture, whilst largely ignored in the past, is attracting increasing interest. The purpose of this paper is to examine a possible framework for assessing a business's food safety culture.Design/methodology/approach – The literature on health and safety culture and organizational culture is examined and relevant components applicable to food safety are identified and discussed.Findings – A total of six possible groupings including: food safety management systems and style; food safety leadership; food safety communication; food safety commitment; food safety environment and risk perception were identified as “culture” factors that could contribute to food safety performance. These can form the basis for assessing food safety culture and how this may be done practically along with the creation of a positive food safety culture are discussed. Management is traditionally talked about in food safety but a distinction is drawn between this and food safety lea...

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Retail deli managers and associates have better food safety culture in stores with lower Listeria monocytogenes contamination

Food safety culture (FSC) has transitioned from a narrow compliance-based concept to a comprehensive organisational value that is essential for ensuring food safety. This review explores the pivotal roles of leadership, organisational commitment, and cultural diversity in shaping an effective FSC. It highlights how leadership style, particularly transformational leadership, can enhance employee engagement and foster a proactive safety culture. Additionally, the impact of national and organisational cultures on FSC is analysed, emphasising the challenges posed by a multicultural workforce in standardising food safety practices. This article also provides a comparative analysis of FSC across various sectors, such as meat and dairy processing, identifying sector-specific challenges and best practices. In particular, high-risk sectors tend to exhibit a stronger FSC due to regulatory pressure, while other sectors struggle with issues like communication and employee ownership. The importance of integrating behavioural training with cultural considerations is underscored as a key strategy for sustaining a positive FSC. For maintaining a strong FSC, tailored approaches, which account for cultural and operational differences, are necessary for improving food safety outcomes. This comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights for industry professionals and policymakers, offering a foundation for future research and the development of more effective food safety management practices.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess elements of food safety management and food safety culture within a prominent South African entertainment, hotel and food service complex.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper a qualitative case study approach was used. Following a comprehensive literature review, based on factors known to be important in developing a food safety culture, in combination with national and international food safety standards, an interview guide was constructed and utilised in a series of semi-structured interviews. The interviewees represented different management levels involved in food delivery but did not include board level managers.FindingsMany of the factors considered important in good food safety management, including the presence of a formal food safety policy and the creation and maintenance of a positive food safety culture, were absent. Although a formal system of internal hygiene auditing existed and food safety training was provided to food handlers they were not integrated into a comprehensive approach to food safety management. Food safety leadership, communication and support were considered deficient with little motivation for staff to practise good hygiene.Originality/valueFood safety culture is increasingly recognised as a contributory factor in foodborne disease outbreaks and is the focus of increasing research. However, although every food business has a unique food safety culture there are relatively few published papers concerning its analysis, application and use within specific businesses. This case study has identified food safety culture shortcomings within a large food service facility suggesting there was a potentially significant food safety risk and indicates ways in which food safety could be improved and the risk reduced. The results also suggest further work is needed in the subject of food safety culture and its potential for reducing foodborne disease.

Training in food safety culture

Purpose: The aim of the article is to identify areas of occupational health and safety that can support the development of a culture of food quality and safety. Design/ methodology / approach: A study was conducted in the surveyed enterprise to determine the level of food quality and safety culture, and then to assess the possibility of using the occupational health and safety system in terms of the possibility of developing solutions supporting the development of food quality and safety culture. Findings: Key areas have been identified, such as training, hygiene, risk and crisis management, work ergonomics, communication and reporting, and supervision of chemical agents, which can mutually positively influence the culture of occupational health and safety and food quality and safety. Originality / value: The article presents an assessment of the level of food quality and safety culture in the surveyed enterprise. Common areas in the field of occupational health and safety culture were also identified, which can strengthen the development of food quality and safety culture. The article can be an element influencing the improvement of activities in the discussed areas in other enterprises, which can contribute to the development of their food quality and safety culture.

Determinants for conducting food safety culture research

The California almond industry underwent a remarkable transformation in food safety management and culture following outbreaks of salmonellosis associated with the consumption of raw almonds in 2000-2001 and 2003-2004. However, limited studies have examined these changes from a longitudinal perspective. This study documents the transformation of food safety management in the California almond industry over an 18-year period, explores indicators of change in food safety culture, identifies the key factors driving these changes, and examines the determinants of industry-wide technology adoption. A multifaceted approach was used, consisting of document analysis and semi-structured interviews. This study provides a detailed review of the almond industry's responses to the outbreaks, highlighting the industry commodity board's proactive leadership in crisis management, collaborative research efforts, risk assessment, and the development of a mandatory Salmonella-control program to mitigate the risks associated with raw almonds. These measures significantly strengthened food safety management systems across the industry. The industry has also shown a shift in mentality toward food safety over time, evidenced by increased prioritization of food safety, stronger management commitment, and reduced resistance to change. A conceptual framework integrating institutional theory and diffusion of innovation theory is proposed to illustrate how external and internal institutional pressures, along with intervention characteristics, influenced the almond industry's adoption of Salmonella-control interventions. The study offers valuable lessons on proactive, industry-driven food safety improvements and self-regulation in enhancing food safety outcomes.

Food safety outbreaks are recurrent events, which regularly cost human lives. Food safety goes beyond food safety management systems; an organisation's prevailing food safety culture, and its internal and external environment must also be considered. This study introduces a research framework to analyse crucial food safety culture elements, and characteristics of the internal (i.e. food safety program, product riskiness, and vulnerability of food production system) and the external company environment (i.e. national values and food safety governance characteristics). We hypothesised that companies producing high-risk products are more likely to demonstrate a proactive food safety culture. We used the framework to assess nine companies producing low, medium, and high-risk products in Zimbabwe, as a case of a transition economy. Results showed no direct relationship between product riskiness and food safety culture, which negated our hypothesis. Other variables explored in this study could have moderated the relationship. We found that the vulnerability (i.e. susceptibility to microbial contamination) of the food production system could be associated with an organisation's food safety culture. Moreover, the external environment could have shaped the prevailing food safety culture. In particular, food safety governance and national values seem to be reflected in the way food safety was prioritised, food safety programs were designed and implemented, the prevailing food safety culture, and the observed food safety behaviour. Further research could investigate the role of the external environment in an organisation's food safety culture by evaluating companies in countries operating with different food safety governance approaches and national values.

Food safety remains a global public health challenge, yet traditional compliance-driven approaches often struggle to sustain genuine and consistent behavioral change. This perspective article examines the potential and limitations of integrating spirituality-across individual, workplace, and organizational levels-as a complementary force within food safety culture. Grounded in spiritual leadership theory and safety climate frameworks, we propose that spirituality may enhance food safety climate by fostering value alignment, ethical sensemaking, and shared responsibility. However, we acknowledge the conceptual and practical tensions inherent in applying spiritual constructs within often secular, highly regulated food safety systems-including measurement challenges, cultural and religious diversity, and the need for universally acceptable, evidence-based interventions. Notwithstanding these complexities, we argue that such integration warrants scholarly and practical exploration, particularly in an era marked by post-pandemic distrust, supply chain fragility, and regulatory fatigue. By synthesizing insights from organizational psychology, behavioral economics, and public health, this article advances a propositional thesis: that spirituality, if thoughtfully operationalized, could serve as a contributing factor in rebuilding trust, enhancing procedural integrity, and cultivating a more resilient and purpose-aware food safety culture. We conclude with a strategic agenda for future research and policy, calling for empirical validation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and culturally adaptive approaches.