We are delighted to launch a new free tool to help BRCGS certificated sites to navigate emerging regulation and support their need to demonstrate ever greater assurance to customers. Food Safety Culture Basic has been added to the all-inclusive Service Package that is provided to sites to enable them to get the best value from BRCGS, in addition to the certification programmes process.
We are seeing an emerging shift in the landscape of food safety, where the use of behavioural science is supplementing food science, and compliance is evaluated through organisational culture, behavioural measures and team dynamics. As well as being a requirement in our Standards, a position now adopted by GFSI, we have seen a recent revision to HACCP and the Codex Alimentarius to make clear references to the importance of a positive food safety culture. Regulation in the European Union (No 852/2004), and the FDA’s new era of food safety show the importance that regulators are placing on how culture can influence effective food safety management.
The basic tool provides a sample of questions and reporting from the full BRCGS Food Safety Culture Excellence Module, and enables sites to capture a limited number of responses from the site, providing an initial view of the type of cultural insight available if the full assessment is undertaken. While it will not satisfy the requirements of the standards or potential inspection, as it will not provide a representative view of overall culture, it is a tool that will guide sites into how to measure and improve cultural performance and to feel confident that this is a process that can be adopted across the whole site.