The food, consumer products and transportation industries have come to realise the critical role played by culture in ensuring the effective implementation of product safety management systems, and in helping to prevent product safety incidents.
A poor culture will prevent objectives being achieved and waste the time, effort and resources put into achieving them. Worse, it will create the conditions where product safety breakdown may occur, causing potentially devastating consequences for customers and consumers as well as for the business itself.
The necessity for a positive product safety culture has been recognised by globally significant standards setting authorities such as Codex Alimentarius, GFSI, BRCGS and ISO, as well as national governments, and it is becoming a key part of product safety audits.
This publication is for business managers, auditors, and anyone with an interest in product safety culture in the food, consumer product and transportation industries. It will be particularly helpful for businesses who want to better understand and improve their product safety culture, and to demonstrate their commitment to customers and auditors.
BRCGS certificated sites can access this new guidance publication free of charge through BRCGS Participate. Alternatively, it can be purchased via the BRCGS Store.
The lack of an appropriate culture plan remains one of the most common non-conformities in BRCGS audits. Measuring culture can be challenging and with the launch of Food Safety Issue 9 coming, BRCGS has introduced a range of services to support certificated sites in this area.
How to deliver Food Safety Culture Excellence
Food Safety Culture Excellence (FSCE) is a digital tool that provides sites with a simple way to measure organisational culture and enables the development of an action plan for improvement. Certificated sites can enjoy a free introductory version called FSCE Basic as part of the Service Package, and there are lots of options for upgrade or for organisations that are not yet certificated.
Learn the basics – An Approach to Product Safety Culture
This industry focused course delivered by the BRCGS Academy, considers organisational culture, leadership and behavioural concepts. It provides the opportunity to gain a fundamental understanding of the importance of a positive product safety culture and the important role played by senior management leadership. In addition, it provides understanding of the impact of attitudes and behaviour on product safety culture, and the preparatory steps of developing a Product Safety Culture Plan, including how to engage staff and encourage their involvement.