Food safety culture as a behavioural phenomenon shaping food safety

Abstract

Food safety culture (FS-culture) is a deeply embedded and evolving organisational construct reflecting the collective beliefs, behaviours, and assumptions of employees. It encompasses key elements such as commitment, leadership, risk awareness, communication, food safety management systems (FSMS), and work environment. Given its growing significance, this paper discusses FS-culture as a dynamic behavioural phenomenon interacting with FSMS. The way FS-culture is framed within various private standards may unintentionally lead food businesses to perceive it as a compliance-driven obligation rather than a behavioural phenomenon. There is a risk that FS-culture may be reduced to a component of food safety management, assessed through standardised checklists. Recent intervention studies demonstrated the complexity of identifying and implementing interventions to evolve FS-culture, and that its evolvement takes time and a myriad of efforts. Fostering FS-culture should be seen as an ongoing process of engagement, leadership, and continuous improvement, rather than a static set of measurable criteria.