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Strong food safety culture is an important component to a solid food safety program. Resources designed to assist retail food service leaders in improving food safety culture that are both data-driven and free are limited.
To address the critical obstacles and promotors of food safety culture, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) developed Transforming Food Safety Culture, a free, web-based training to improve food safety culture. With restaurant experts, managers and employees in mind, SNHD conducted a mixed methods study to understand restaurant culture and how to intertwine best food safety practices in the most effective way. This training was born as a result of a mixed methods study conducted to improve the food safety culture for restaurant workers. Through qualitative focus groups and quantitative surveys, SNHD identified strategies to improve food safety as told by front line workers and managers with lived experience in retail food establishments. Surveys were conducted in person and remotely, with English and Spanish options, covering eight food safety culture-related topics. Themes from these discussions were further explored in a survey that consisted of 41 questions, also available in English and Spanish.
Transforming Food Safety Culture, walks users through strategies for improvement in food safety culture, and the obstacles that prevent it. This interactive tool offers the user an opportunity to interview the team members of a struggling restaurant, and apply what they’ve learned by making specific suggestions for best practices. Users are able to revisit the mock restaurant where they can see the impact of implementing their suggested strategies. Users have access to knowledge checks and an impactful video from The Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness to enhance and solidify their understanding for real-world application. This training was designed with retail food managers and food workers in mind, but is also beneficial for regulators, owners, and leaders in other food settings.
Register and share Transforming Food Safety Culture with your teams and colleagues. Just one change in an environment can make a large difference.
Laurie Farmer, FDA: "This is fantastic. I like how it gets to the heart right away. The examples of real-world situations with right and wrong behaviors was so helpful. And best practices!"
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