Ecolab Launches Food Safety Culture Assessment for Food Retail

Ecolab Inc., a provider of food safety solutions and expertise, has launched the Food Safety Culture Assessment, a tested tool to help measure and advance food safety behaviors and the overall food safety culture within food retail organizations.

Consumers are increasingly demanding fresh food and diverse eating options from grocery stores, restaurants and the foodservice industry. These options can lead to greater food safety risks, and companies are seeking better ways to ensure customer safety.

“To effectively improve food safety, it is necessary to add new risk reduction techniques to the toolbox,” said Adam Johnson, general manager, Ecolab Food Retail Services. “The Food Safety Culture Assessment is designed to provide greater visibility into the attitudes and actions of frontline employees, managers and corporate officers, and identify areas for improvement.”

Organizations are often familiar with the standards and best practices to ensure food safety; however, risks often come from the behaviors and actions of those responsible for following the practices and standards. The Food Safety Culture Assessment is a series of questions on the key elements of an effective food safety culture. It only takes minutes to complete, the company said, adding that the assessment results help identify trends based on unique attributes important to a company.

“Food Safety equals behavior,” said Frank Yiannas, a renowned food safety expert and author of the authoritative book “Food Safety Culture, Creating a Behavior-Based Food Safety Management System.” Prior to joining FDA, Yiannas developed the assessment and partnered with Ecolab to provide the assessment, data analytics, benchmarking and recommended improvement strategies to customers.

Ecolab can conduct the assessment across all levels of an organization, the company said. Assessment results are reported with an overview by question and category, a Food Safety Culture Index, an industry benchmark score, and recommendations designed to help prioritize an organization’s action planning efforts. Companies can take the assessment on an annual basis or at any desired frequency to help ensure they are making progress in maintaining and strengthening a strong food safety culture.

“In today’s world, ensuring food safety is critical to ensuring continued business success. Food safety can’t wait,” Johnson said.