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Food safety culture: the evolution of an emerging risk factor?: A review

Griffith, Livesey and Clayton, 2010

The article, Food safety culture: the evolution of an emerging risk factor? proposed the food

safety culture should be included alongside the established traditional risk factors when evaluating the

cause of food poisoning outbreak. Apart from traditional view in assessing the food risk factor eg.

undercooking, cross contamination, poor food hygiene, the author believes that by adding the food safety

culture in the assessment could provide more holistic view, considering the food safety culture has long

being cited as the causative or risk factor in major food incidents. Recognized as contributory or indirect

factor in the food incidents, the food safety culture can be considered as the emerging risk factor which

could be highly significant contributing to the food poisoning.

The first part of this article mainly discusses about the evolution of organizational culture. The

concept of culture and organization from various discipline were underlined and various related definition

come into discussion. The authors believe, the organizational culture which emphasize on different

combination of tradition, shared philosophies, norms, communication and control systems are also

applicable in food business. Explained by using Scheins model of organizational culture, the business

can expect a positive result where the members of organization will probably follow the shared practice

and norms of the organization, although these may different from their personal beliefs and attitude.

In the second part of the article, the authors integrate the concept of organizational culture and

safety culture. The safety culture where safety is understood and accepted as number one business

priority, are somehow argued whether the culture should exist when only safety become the number

priority or not. Somehow in the food business situation, given to the effect of poor food handling

practices, the results of death from food poisoning cases show the importance of food safety culture

implementation in the organization. The food safety culture as according to the author could influences

individual actions and patterns of communication at all levels of the business and has developed from

awareness of specific safety hazard to both staffs and public.

It is also important to differentiate the safety culture and climate. Following the Scheins model

of organizational culture, safety climate are subjected to changes and unstable where the perception of

state of safety are only based on situation and environment. This may different with the understanding of

food safety culture where the importance of food safety handling are become the number one priority

which manifested in individuals action and communication. However, a thorough understanding for both

safety culture and climate are needed by managers as it could provide them with holistic view of food

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safety beliefs and practices which later could be useful in order to link the potential for food poisoning

and possible adverse business consequences.

Problem of misinterpretation may arise in order to implement the food safety culture. This is due

to nature of business where workers are grouped in different level of management and operational line,

where differing perceptions of desirable safety behaviors could emerge in every group. Some researcher

found it normal that different cultures and subcultures can be formed around this different functional

groups and level. In this situation, the authors suggested that the manager should play an important role in

bridging the top management and operative department by creating a homogenous safety culture in the

organization.

Toward the end the end of the article, the authors stressed out the importance of food safety

culture stating foodborne disease could be reduced by strengthening the food safety culture rather than

focusing on bigger or better safety systems. This can be achieved by integrating the safety management

systems with workforce values, beliefs and behaviors which may results in more positive norm in

working environment. A behavioral norm which can become the unspoken rule can help the organization

to achieve the goal in reducing the food risks when individuals thoughts, behaviors and beliefs are

changed within the group. The dominant behavior that appear stable can be easily learned and becoming

shared responsibility, thus resulting for more strong food safety culture which could resist to changes.

To sum up, the authors suggested that the study on organizational food safety culture should be

put into more intention. The consideration to acknowledge the food safety culture as emerging risk

factor seems appropriate for the writer due to the fact that it had been recently recognized as contributory

factors to foodborne illness. Although some argument also rose in the usefulness and validity of safety

culture studies where certain academician sees this idea is merely a fuzzy academic concept withou t

any clear benefits, the authors defend this concept, stating those concern are emerged due to lack of

standard working definition of safety culture, and also lack of agreement of over what constitutes the key

organizational factors that should be used to measure safety culture in applied settings. The author also

emphasize the importance to enhance the research in particular area in order to generate more firm

structure on the particular knowledge, thus help the academician to analyze the food safety culture in

more objective and accurate way.

Reference

Griffith, C. J., Livesey, K. M., & Clayton, D. A. (2010). Food safety culture: the evolution of an

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emerging risk factor?British Food Journal, 112(4), 426-438.