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3 1.7: Employee’s Role in Food Safety

1.7 Employee’s Role in Food Safety

Food Safety Culture

Employees play a crucial role in guest satisfaction, productivity, and profitability in a food establishment. However, food safety should be the biggest priority for all employees. Companies should begin by creating a strong culture of food safety within the organization.

The Global Food Safety Initiative, for example, defines food safety culture as “shared values, beliefs and norms that affect mind-set and behavior toward food safety in, across and throughout an organization” (Global Food, 2018). The food safety culture of the establishment promotes proper food safety systems to protect the consumer.

Food employees must be provided the proper tools to ensure awareness, knowledge and understanding of how to protect food. Food establishments can do this by creating training programs for new hires as well as continuing food employees. Food safety training programs can be tailored to meet the needs of each food establishment and should include safe food handling practices, personal hygiene and the physical facility.

Empowerment

All food employees must take an active role in the training process. Learning to recognize hazardous and unsafe situations must be instilled in every food employee. Clear and open lines of communication between food employees and managers is crucial when hazards are identified. Working as a team to correct any safety deficiencies should be encouraged. Food employees should help others to follow safety food practices. When employees engage in the process, job performance and positive work culture thrive.

Once food employees have a solid foundation of food safety, empowering employees to make critical decisions about unsafe situations will foster a positive food safety culture. Employees will gain a sense of pride in their work, model correct behaviors to others and overall serve safer food. All food employees have a responsibility to protect the public and must remain vigilant, always prioritizing safe food practices.

Assessment

For an establishment to obtain a better understanding of their employee’s food safety barriers, employees are encouraged to complete the Center for Disease Control (CDC) “Food Safety Culture Assessment Form”, see Figure 1.

The assessment tool can help organizations to find strengths and weaknesses of the establishment’s food safety culture and employee’s commitment to serving safe food. The assessment form can be used over time to track the organization’s progress. Employee commitment, team commitment, food safety systems, tools, training, communication, and recognition are among the areas assessed.

 

Food Safety Culture Assessment Form for Restaurant Workers
We want to know what you think about food safety practices in our restaurant.
Please check the column that best reflects your experiences in this restaurant. This is an anonymous survey, no name required.
In this restaurant… Strongly disagree Disagree Neither Agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly

Agree

  • Employees follow food safety rules, even when no one is looking.
  • Employees encourage each other to follow food safety rules.
  • Employees take responsibility for food safety in their areas.
  • Employees wash their hands when they are supposed to.
  • There are enough gloves or utensils to use to avoid touching the food with my bare hands.
  • Sinks are nearby and are easy to get to for handwashing.
  • Sinks for handwashing have hot water, soap, and paper towels or another way to dry my hands.
  • When the restaurant is busy, managersmanages prioritize serving food over following food safety rules.
  • Employees have to cut corners because there is too much work to dot do.
  • Managers ignore when employees are not following food safety rules.
  • The restaurant provides sufficient safety training for me to do my job.
  • Managers get feedback from employees to improve food safety.
  • Food safety is stressed with signs, posters, or n shift meetings.
  • Employees are positively recognized for following food safety rules.
  • My manager explains what is expected of me.
  • Employees know the restaurant’s food safety expectations.

Figure 1. CDC’s Food Safety Culture Assessment Form for Restaurant Workers

References

https://www.cdc.gov/restaurant-food-safety/php/practices/food-safety-culture.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X23065018

 

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