Little by little, the concept of “Food Safety Culture” It is gaining ground in our daily lives, becoming a fundamental pillar in Food Safety management.
But… what do we mean by Food Safety Culture? ?
The first thing we need to be clear about is that the concept of Food culture It is different from the concept of Behavior, since the tendency is to confuse both terms.
The Food Safety Culture We can define it as the set of attitudes, values, and beliefs shared by a group of people; therefore, the result of these attitudes, values, and beliefs will determine our level of commitment and maturity. Quality and Food Safety Management System while behavior is something that can be clearly observed.
Therefore, the Food Safety Culture It has to do not only with behavior, but also with the attitudes, values, beliefs or prejudices of people, among others, within an organization, in order to guarantee food safety within it.
What do we need to consider before implementing a Food Safety Culture plan?
When implementing a Food Safety Culture Plan, We must take into account the background of our staff, as this will influence their daily work behavior and, in turn, this behavior, whether positive or negative, will have consequences for our organization.
Background –> Behavior –> Consequences
For these reasons, it is very important to know the level of maturity in my company.
And… how do I plan my food culture plan?
As an example, we propose these 6 phases:
✅ PHASE 1: Self-assessment of staff, by hierarchy levels.
✅ PHASE 2: Review of self-assessment data.
✅ PHASE 3: On-site evaluation.
✅ PHASE 4: Define the Food Security Action Plan.
✅ PHASE 5: Follow-up.
✅ PHASE 6: Confirm with a self-assessment the continuous improvement of the food safety culture plan.
Having a good Food Culture Plan in place will give us the keys to properly manage our Food Quality and Safety System, obtain good results and, at the same time, minimize risks as much as possible.
At Incyma, we support the food industry in the implementation and certification of schemes such as BRCGS, IFS and ISO 22000, as part of our services management systems and certifications.
SHALL WE TALK?
? 618 486 932 ? info@incyma.es
Source: DNV Global and GFSI. Image: Agri-food KPI.
