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Since the advent of BRC Food 8, food safety culture has become an important concept in the food industry. It is included in all GFSI-recognized standards, such as IFS and FSSC22000. Précon has therefore developed the culture measurement model that allows us to do a quantitative measurement that provides insight into food safety culture within a company.
After the introduction of the concept of food safety culture in BRC Food, many were searching for how to deal with this topic. It has since become a recognizable concept. Since the new GFSI 2020 benchmark, all GFSI recognized standards must include food safety culture in their standard.
Moreover, in September 2020, the Codex Alimentarius Commission approved a revision of its Global Standard on General Principles of Food Hygiene (CXC 1-1969). The revised CXC 1-1969 introduces the concept of "food safety culture" as a general concept.
The importance of food safety culture has also been further emphasized in the EU context since Regulation (EU) 2021/382 came into force in March 2021. This complements Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on food hygiene. Food companies must now legally ensure the establishment, maintenance and evidence of an appropriate food safety culture within the company.
Now that concept of food safety culture is so entrenched that it can be questioned during inspections and audits, the time has come for companies to get serious about it and make the culture demonstrably transparent and improve it where necessary.
You achieve a good food safety culture by raising awareness among employees and improving behavior. The effect of this on food safety has been demonstrated in several scientific publications. Yet it is not just down to employees. To achieve a good food safety culture, more is needed. The quality system is of course important as are the organization's policies and goals. Communicating this by management is then indispensable, because if the manager does not follow the rules, it is difficult to convince employees that they should.
For certifications and new legislation, proving food safety culture is important. How do you make this transparent?
Précon has developed a "culture measurement model" for this purpose, which allows us to do a good measurement of the state of food safety culture. In a comprehensive questionnaire we ask all employees of a company to what extent they agree with over 40 statements. We thus measure the various aspects that determine the food safety culture within a company. These include:
Our analysis of the results of the questionnaire provides insight into how your company is doing in each aspect, which aspects are doing well and which need more attention. This enables your company to demonstrate the state of its food safety culture. Because the measurement can be repeated, you can also see whether improvements have been effective. Thus, as an organization you can not only ensure that you meet the requirements, but above all that you are actively engaged in improving the culture. Because ultimately you are not doing it for the audit, but to ensure that everyone in the organization has food safety as a high priority!
Want to know more about our approach? Then take a look at our culture measurement model or attend the "Getting a Grip on Food Safety Culture" training!
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