In today’s world of enhanced food safety detection and reporting, companies want to ensure they go beyond traditional food safety management. They want to know that their organizations have a Food Safety Culture. Yet despite the increased use of the term “Food Safety Culture” and the growing realization of the role organizational culture plays in influencing human behavior, there remain gaps in a more science-based approach to this topic based on insights from the behavioral science field, concepts of organizational culture, and the use of proven and effective measurement tools.

How does your company rate in the following categories?

• Expectations: Do you have clearly defined food safety expectations for your employees?
• Training & Education: Are your employees provided with the training and education needed to understand how to produce food safely?
• Communication: Does your company and its leaders effectively and frequently communicate the importance of food safety?
• Goals and Measurements: Does your company have clear food safety goals and measures in place to improve food safety performance?
• Consequences: Does your company celebrate good food safety performance? How does it correct poor performance?

How National Registry Can Help You

The foundation for a safe food culture starts with certification. National Registry of Food Safety Professionals provides personal certification for managers and a certificate program for food handlers responsible for food safety. National Registry tests not only your technical food safety knowledge but also the behaviors needed to effectively implement that knowledge.

According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, in a strong safety culture, “everyone feels responsible for safety and pursues it on a daily basis; employees go beyond the ‘call of duty’ to identify unsafe conditions and behaviors, and intervene to correct them.” This is very similar to a food safety culture.

From a variety of training options to materials in the online store to a map with current state regulations to certificate programs for your food handlers to customized certificate programs for your industry to advanced certification options for your HACCP managers, National Registry has you covered for every step of the way in establishing and maintaining your food safety culture.

Food Safety Culture Index

The Food Safety Culture Index is a series of simple-to-read and understand questions designed around the key elements of an effective Food Safety Culture as listed in the first and most cited text on the subject, Food Safety Culture, Creating a Behavior Based Food Safety Management System by Frank Yiannas (2009). The survey questions have been validated by National Registry’s psychometric professionals, and they cover the key elements of an effective Food safety Culture outlined in Yiannas’s book including Expectations, Training & Education, Communication, Goals & Measurements, and Consequences.

Survey questions are anonymously rated by employees using a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) and reported as an average score for the site and company. Demographic data (geography, position held, years of service, etc.) can be captured as requested in advance of answering survey questions to assist in identifying trends by unique attributes important to your company. The survey has been designed so that it can be administered to employees by a variety of easy-to-use mediums (paper, smart phone, tablet, or desktop) and it only takes minutes to complete.

Survey results are presented as average scores by question and section. Survey questions and overall results are also compared to an industry benchmark score, along with recommendations on the actions you can take to improve scores in areas of opportunity and further strengthen your food safety culture.

Companies can take the survey on an annual basis or at the frequency desired to ensure they are making progress in maintaining and strengthening a world-class food safety culture, as assessed against a Food Safety Culture Maturity Model.

The Food Safety Culture Index from National Registry of Food Safety Professionals is the only food safety culture survey that can claim to be used by some of the world’s leading food safety brands. It also has the added benefit of being based on the work of Frank Yiannas, VP for Global Brands, Past President of the International Association for Food Protection, and considered one of the founders of the field food safety culture.

In today’s world, ensuring food safety is critical to ensuring continued business success. Food safety can’t wait.

Call us now at 888-352-3830 to learn more about the Food Safety Culture Index and help your company get started now.