Food Safety Culture (FSC)

Food Safety Culture (FSC) is a newly emphasized aspect of organizational behavior, defined by shared values impacting food safety, as recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). With recent regulatory updates in Europe, companies certified by IFS and BRC must integrate FSC requirements into their standards. Leveraging digital technology becomes essential in meeting these demands, offering efficient communication, training, and self-assessment tools to embed FSC principles effectively.

What is Food Safety Culture (FSC)?

Food Safety Culture (FSC), according to the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) report, is defined as a set of shared values, beliefs and norms that impact food safety behaviors within an organization.

The concept of FSC has recently been added into the European food safety regulations: Regulation 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs has been amended in some of its annexes.

IFS and BRC certified companies will have to take into account the new requirements related to FSC, which have been integrated into the latest versions of these standards.

What are the objectives of the FSC?

One of the FSC’s main objectives is to strengthen the management system in terms of food safety, while ensuring that all employees are responsible and invested in the process. Moreover, it is one of the possible ways to integrate the food safety culture within the company.

The FSC is a long-term project, which must be supported by the Board of Directors in order to encourage the investment of all the personnel.

How to meet this new requirement?

Digital technology will help you to effectively deploy a Food Safety Culture.

Indeed, it is now possible to rely on a dedicated platform to facilitate communication and training procedures within the company. Each employee has access to their corresponding documents, such as the hygiene procedures, which are essential in the FSC approach. The HR department will also use this tool to update and renew the employees’ qualifications and habilitations.

In addition, it is in the interest of every company to conduct self-assessment to check if all the criteria related to the FSC standards are met. Digitized grids will allow the planning and monitoring of the internal assessment modules. The resulting actions from the self-assessment are then automatically incremented in the Global Action Plan of the organization.

Finally, thanks to digital technology, managers can have access to statistical analyses and dynamic dashboards fed by key elements and indicators of the FSC’s principles.

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Our expert

Célia SCHNEIDER - Célia Schneider - Director of Digital Transformation Projects Quality and HSE at BlueKanGo based in Montreal, for nearly two years. Her expertise lies in guiding clients through the digital transformation of their quality and HSE processes. Specializing in risk analysis, accident investigation, environmental analysis, risk management, auditing, and ISO standards compliance, including ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001, she ensures seamless transitions and compliance with industry standards. With a Master's degree in Quality, Environment, and Safety in Industry and Services, awarded with distinction in 2020, Célia embodies a commitment to excellence in every aspect of her work.