How do you integrate food safety into your company culture?

Hello:

Can anyone please describe how you integrate food safety into your company culture, values, policies, and processes?

Thank you for your input. It's truly appreciated.

- DK

"Attitude is reflection of Leadership" :cool:

A very good question, PremixBelle, yet this will be a topic of very broad and subjective response.  And I can't wait to hear everyone's experiences and advice!  :thumbup: 

Leading a horse, teaching an old dog, beating a dead horse (might even be a thirsty dead horse). We have all been beaten down with this monumental challenge.  

Here is the "shock value" approach I have done in the past that seems to have some impact;

• Gathered employees for a meeting. A rather innocuous preface to a more serious note. Holding finished product for sampling on a common means of production conveyance, I dropped the samples onto the break room floor, gathered them back up and continued to offer employees for a taste test.  Everyone of course declined with looks of "are you stupid"?  "Why not"? I asked, and without much hesitation I added further, "If you won't eat this, and you wouldn't feed it to your family then this will not go to our customer, right"? (hopefully everyone knows of the situation I speak of)
• I observed employee(s) mishandling finished product (not willful negligence mind you). I stopped employee(s) and asked a simple question:  "Would you feed this to your mom, dad, sister, child"?  (with a momentary and uncomfortable pause) The answer was a 100% "no".   My reply... 

Although I understand that having well trained employees in CCP's with tough and complicated parameters may require a more academic investment, but the sum point was keeping everyone's mindset on the fact that what they are producing is meant for Human consumption.  So I pressure them to ask this very basic question: "Would you eat this or serve it to your family"? 

First and foremost you need a fully supportive senior management (at least one), who understands and is motivated to develop a food safety culture by being involved and providing the necessary resources and support over the long term.

On the money Simon. Without management commitment you have about zero chance of integrating food safety into your company's culture. Another necessity is to "adjust" your production staff to ALWAYS remember that they're making food, not widgets. A carrot and stick approach is necessary to some degree depending on the current culture.

Preferably soft on the stick and heavy on the carrot, but if you have individuals who make the same food safety related mistake(s) over and over again you must take action. Others will take notice of that action. On the carrot side make sure that managment praises and rewards employees who regularly follow cGMPs, hygiene practices, HACCP related responsibilities, etc.

Raises and bonuses are obviously very effective, but pizza day or $10 gift cards at a local big box store don't hurt either. Praise fosters a positive work place; give it freely when appropriate and make sure that it's public so others see that their good work practices are recognized and appreciated.

Finally, one of the most important aspects to integration of food safety in your company in my opinion is thorough regular training given by a knowledgable and enthusiastic trainer(s).

For me, personally i'm having this problem in making food safety as part of the business culture.

I'm still learning, and i can share some of my practices that might help.

1. During the production, i try to let the worker / operator to know the important of food safety and get the mind set that we provide food for us and customer. If it's not good for us, don't produce it.

2. Try to communicate with workers/operators on the safety issues often. We tend to do better if we get the encouraging words and attention with positive respond.

3. Training and learning is the key, get the worker to attend training and always educate them.

I'd always said that everybody play their roles in keeping the food produced is good and safe to consume.

Hello:

 

Can anyone please describe how you integrate food safety into your company culture, values, policies, and processes?

 

Thank you for your input. It's truly appreciated.

 

- DK

 

 

 

Hi DK,

For me there are two key elements, Senior Management Commitment and Communication.

As part of Senior Management Commitment Policies and Objectives should be issued. Culture is only changed by commitment to change, determination and drive. This process involves a significant effort in communicating the requirements and reasons to employees.

Communication processes that can be used include:
Training
Supervision
Team briefings
Staff reviews
Daily Management meetings
Shift Handover meetings
Newsletters
Notice boards

Regular communication is important to keep all employees aware of company performance in meeting policies and objectives. The following are examples of information which if relevant to food safety should be communicated regularly:
Key Performance Indicators
Results of Audits
Results of Customer visits
Results of Inspections by Regulatory Authorities
Corrective/Preventive Actions
Complaints
Product withdrawal
Changes

Regards,

Tony

First thing, it won't happen overnight that is for sure!

Second thing, as highlighted above ..... senior management commitment is critical. It is is also more than just providing resources (time, money, people etc) it is believing in what the business is trying to achieve on food safety culture. The senior management not only need to believe in it, they need to "talk the talk" and "walk the walk" ie be seen in the plant and engage with the plant operators.

Third thing ....communicate, communicate, communicate!

Good Luck!

DP2006

1. management  - role model

2. train 'Food safety and quality is everyones responsibility", talk to employees, show examples

From my experience….

·         To be able to integrate food safety successfully into day-to-day operations orders must come from the top (senior management). If they have your back and enforces your food safety policies and actually follow your set procedures (i.e. managers leading by example by wearing hair nets in food handling areas, no exceptions) then the rest of your production staff will follow suit.

·         Give comprehensive food safety training to all, then refreshers annually.

·         Constant communication, from senior management to floor staff.

·         Have regular internal audits so you can pin-point areas for improvement and always relay to the entire business what the results of the audit were. This will act as a reminder to them to keep up the good work or improve on certain food safety aspects.

·         Regularly speak to staff regarding food safety-related activities. Get them involved. Get their feedback on your current system, do they understand it? Does it work? Have they any thoughts for improvement? 

i think its all about management commitment they should come up with policy and strategies to achieve the set goals. you can refer to ISO 9001 to have a better understanding of how this can be done but it should all start with management.

I agree with the above.

If senior management isn't on board nobody will be.  I've seen that in plant after plant.

Trust.  Get the employee's trust that you, working toward food safety, isn't a threat to them.  Your not trying to fire them or whatnot.  Work with them not against them.  Try to get their input and where possible implement their suggestions.

Communication is pivotal to the concept of the food safety culture.  Share with them what needs to happen and what's happening around them.  In my last position I posted all recalls that I thought my potentially impact them and their families or any that were industry related so they could see what may happen in our own plant.

Remember.  They don't typically see things the way we do in in the manner we do.  They see a cup has to go in a box.  They don't realize why having a cell phone in their pocket is a microbiological risk.

All of the above and when educating provide the "why".  When  they understand why it is important I have seen compliance skyrocket. 

All of the above and when educating provide the "why".  When  they understand why it is important I have seen compliance skyrocket. 

I completely agree with this and I'll provide a story from my experience:

At one of the places I worked we allowed people to wear their ballcaps over their hairnets.  When our quality manager changed over to a new person he put out a GMP change that disallowed ballcaps to be worn at all.

Some people weren't extremely happy with the change and one guy, a good worker, came into the lab and we talked about various things and he brought up this change.

I explained to him knowing a little about him (big truck, he liked to mud, he was a hunter) "I know you like to hunt and mud in your truck.  How often do you wear your hat while doing those things?"

He indicated that he always wore his hat... always

Then I said "How much deer blood might be on your hat.  What kinds of bacteria from blood and mud could be on your hat?  Then your wear your hat in to the plant over your hairnet and how much of that bacteria might get into the product."

Instant win.  He looked at me with new knowledge in his mind as I think he realized we don't just make rules for fun but with food safety in mind.

We never had a problem with him questioning changed rules again.

It's always the Why.   When someone doesn't understand it then that's when they won't follow it.  They need to understand why.

for the first time, you can make Food safety policy, then training your employees. and you must make annualy training plan for food safety.

It's always the Why.   When someone doesn't understand it then that's when they won't follow it.  They need to understand why.

100% agree.

Sometimes is difficult for some operators (usually older, > 45 years old and with low scholarity) understand the "Why"... Specially when in their home have wrong practices of personal/food hygiene. Basical procedures must be given in training, but sometimes is so difficult!

Another thing to drive home is the fact that your making food.  I used to say this all the time at my last plant at green room meetings.  Something like "Ok let's go make some food."  Point out that they bring it home (if they are allowed) and their families eat it.  When your talking about food safety and contamination if it's a food babies, infants, or the elderly can eat that they have an undeveloped/weakened immune system and that it's our job to make sure that the food doesn't hurt them.

Make the point relevant to your audience.  If they can picture feeding it to their babies/infants they may think twice about picking something up off the floor and putting it back on the line... or whatever bad thing they might do.

Another topic to bring up are the consequences of not following Food Safety programs - potential contamination, recall, negative publicity , lost of customers, lost of job.