How do you evaluate the effectiveness of a site’s food safety culture during an audit?

[Lily]

With the emphasis on food safety culture in BRCGS Issue 9, auditors are expected to go beyond documentation and assess behaviours, communication, and staff engagement.

What indicators do you look for when assessing culture on-site?
Have you seen effective ways sites demonstrate real commitment vs. just ticking the box?

 

[Marzena STC & QTC]

When assessing food safety culture on-site, the focus should be on observable behaviours rather than documentation. Key considerations include whether staff understand their food safety responsibilities and follow GMPs consistently without prompting. Effective communication is another indicator, demonstrated through regular discussion of food safety topics and an environment where employees feel comfortable raising concerns. Leadership behaviour plays a central role; managers should model expected standards, challenge non-compliance, and actively participate in food safety activities. Training effectiveness is reflected not just in attendance but in employees’ ability to demonstrate what they have learned, and a strong culture is evident when staff feel empowered to stop production or report issues.


Genuine commitment is typically shown through practices such as regular food-safety-focused walks, daily operational huddles that address risks, real-time KPI boards, and systems where staff suggestions lead to tangible improvements. In contrast, a tick-box culture is apparent when staff cannot explain procedures, when behaviours change only during audits, or when leadership engagement is minimal.

 

[Cathy Gladwin]

For me, the sites attitude towards getting Non-Conformities reveals quite a lot. Now to be fair, there are many reasons for not wanting them... it's the work involved in correcting them, it's the impact on the auditees and potentially the sites reputation, and mostly, it's just human nature defensiveness. But putting aside silly and meaningless NCs which shouldn't be raised in the first place, there are many sites that are an absolute pleasure to audit and these are the sites that say "bring it on". They want to know how they can improve, they are fully invested in the goal of making the best possible product and operating in the most efficient and effective way. That's a business with a fantastic product safety and quality culture.