Food safety culture collaboration: Are regulators adapting and catching up?

Jespersen, Lone; Nayak, Rounaq; Olsen, A

Abstract

Ensuring food safety in the modern globalised food system requires effective risk management across complex supply chains. Key actors, including producers, processors, regulators, and consumers, play an integral role in safeguarding food safety. However, challenges persist in documenting full supply chains, meeting regulatory standards, and ensuring transparency. Collaboration among food enterprises, regulatory authorities, and consumers is essential for reducing food safety risks. Food Safety Regulatory Agencies (FSRAs) worldwide are responsible for enforcing standards, conducting risk assessments, and sharing scientific information to mitigate emerging hazards.

A key component of effective food safety management is fostering trust and transparency between regulators, industry, and consumers. Open information-sharing about failures and near misses strengthens food safety protocols and enhances risk management strategies. However, trust is built through cooperation and proactive engagement rather than punitive actions. FSRAs must create an environment that encourages learning and continuous improvement rather than merely enforcing compliance. Consumers also play a crucial role in holding industry accountable by demanding supply chain transparency.

In recent years, the concept of food safety culture has gained prominence, particularly within the food industry. Since 2020, Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-benchmarked auditing schemes have incorporated food safety culture assessments. However, regulatory agencies have only recently begun integrating organisational culture into their auditing frameworks. Since 2012, regulatory bodies in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Ireland have pioneered efforts to embed food safety culture within their policies. Their contributions have also influenced the revision of the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene.

This article examines the evolving role of food safety culture within industry and regulatory agencies, highlighting the need for regulatory bodies to enhance their own organisational cultures. Without this alignment, trust and collaboration between industry, regulators, and consumers may be compromised, ultimately affecting food safety outcomes.

• Online Publication Date: Oct 5, 2023
• Publication Date: Oct 5, 2023
• Deposit Date: Mar 2, 2025
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13875057
• Publisher URL: https://www.food-safety.com/articles/8928-food-safety-culture-collaboration-are-regulators-adapting-and-catching-up