GFSI Releases Version 2.0 of Food Safety Culture Position Paper Featuring Refined Framework
VANCOUVER, CANADA, March 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has today launched ‘A Culture of Food Safety’, its position paper presenting an evidence-based framework to help organisations around the world strengthen food safety.
The updated resource incorporates insights from more than 180 academic and industry sources, including empirical studies, behavioural science, organisational research and professional guidance. Building on the 2018 edition, which played an important role in establishing a common language for discussing food safety culture, it establishes a dual-layered approach to food safety.
It identifies ‘Organisational Foundations’, the leadership and values that form an organisation’s DNA, and ‘Manifested Practices’, the visible, daily behaviours that ensure food stays safe from farm to fork. By aligning these two tiers, the resource highlights that businesses can move beyond mere compliance to a culture of continuous improvement.
The paper reinforces GFSI’s central premise: food safety culture is not merely the product of leadership or training, but an integration of shared values, behaviours, risk awareness and organisational learning. The paper demonstrates that to be effective, food safety culture must be measurable, actionable and continuously improved.
Elizabeth Andoh-Kesson, the Interim Director of GFSI said: “Food safety culture is a critical determinant of food safety outcomes – and strong food safety cultures are built through shared values, consistent behaviours and a deep awareness of risk. Too often, food safety is only high on the agenda when there is a crisis, which has to change. In an increasingly complex food system, food safety should go beyond formal regulations to live within the culture of an organisation.”
In addition to the updated framework, the paper outlines key implications and recommendations for the industry, regulators and certification bodies:
• Adopt an integrated systems-and-culture approach, recognising that food safety performance depends on both formal controls and organisational behaviours.
• Use the five-dimension framework as a common reference point when designing standards, training programmes and assurance activities.
• Assess food safety culture across multiple dimensions, rather than relying on a single indicator or tool.
• Strengthen research and practical work on under-explored areas, particularly the dimensions of consistency and organisational adaptability, which remain less studied in the literature.
The resource launched today at the GFSI Conference in Vancouver, where more than 600 food safety experts from around the globe came together to help achieve safe food for people everywhere and find ways to ensure greater action on shared challenges.
ENDS
For more information, please contact: CGF@forster.co.uk
Notes to editors
Visit GFSI on LinkedIn and YouTube to be the first to hear updates and new programme confirmations.
About the Global Food Safety Initiative
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) brings together key actors of the food industry to drive continuous improvement in food safety management systems around the world.
With a vision of Safe food for consumers everywhere, food industry leaders created GFSI in 2000 to reduce food safety risks, audit duplication and costs while building trust throughout the supply chain.
The GFSI community works on a volunteer basis and is composed of the world’s leading food safety experts from retail, manufacturing and food service companies, as well as international organisations, governments, academia and service providers to the global food industry.
GFSI is powered by The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a global industry network working to support better lives through better business.
About The Consumer Goods Forum
The Consumer Goods Forum (“CGF”) is a global, parity-based industry network that is driven by its members to encourage the global adoption of best practices and recommended standards that serves the consumer goods industry worldwide. Its members are the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries, and it reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Its member companies have an estimated revenue of exceeding €5.2 trillion and directly employ nearly 10 million people, with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain. The CGF is led by a Board of Directors formed of 53 CEOs – evenly split between retailers and manufacturers.
For more information, please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com
The updated resource incorporates insights from more than 180 academic and industry sources, including empirical studies, behavioural science, organisational research and professional guidance. Building on the 2018 edition, which played an important role in establishing a common language for discussing food safety culture, it establishes a dual-layered approach to food safety.
It identifies ‘Organisational Foundations’, the leadership and values that form an organisation’s DNA, and ‘Manifested Practices’, the visible, daily behaviours that ensure food stays safe from farm to fork. By aligning these two tiers, the resource highlights that businesses can move beyond mere compliance to a culture of continuous improvement.
The paper reinforces GFSI’s central premise: food safety culture is not merely the product of leadership or training, but an integration of shared values, behaviours, risk awareness and organisational learning. The paper demonstrates that to be effective, food safety culture must be measurable, actionable and continuously improved.
Elizabeth Andoh-Kesson, the Interim Director of GFSI said: “Food safety culture is a critical determinant of food safety outcomes – and strong food safety cultures are built through shared values, consistent behaviours and a deep awareness of risk. Too often, food safety is only high on the agenda when there is a crisis, which has to change. In an increasingly complex food system, food safety should go beyond formal regulations to live within the culture of an organisation.”
In addition to the updated framework, the paper outlines key implications and recommendations for the industry, regulators and certification bodies:
• Adopt an integrated systems-and-culture approach, recognising that food safety performance depends on both formal controls and organisational behaviours.
• Use the five-dimension framework as a common reference point when designing standards, training programmes and assurance activities.
• Assess food safety culture across multiple dimensions, rather than relying on a single indicator or tool.
• Strengthen research and practical work on under-explored areas, particularly the dimensions of consistency and organisational adaptability, which remain less studied in the literature.
The resource launched today at the GFSI Conference in Vancouver, where more than 600 food safety experts from around the globe came together to help achieve safe food for people everywhere and find ways to ensure greater action on shared challenges.
ENDS
For more information, please contact: CGF@forster.co.uk
Notes to editors
Visit GFSI on LinkedIn and YouTube to be the first to hear updates and new programme confirmations.
About the Global Food Safety Initiative
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) brings together key actors of the food industry to drive continuous improvement in food safety management systems around the world.
With a vision of Safe food for consumers everywhere, food industry leaders created GFSI in 2000 to reduce food safety risks, audit duplication and costs while building trust throughout the supply chain.
The GFSI community works on a volunteer basis and is composed of the world’s leading food safety experts from retail, manufacturing and food service companies, as well as international organisations, governments, academia and service providers to the global food industry.
GFSI is powered by The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a global industry network working to support better lives through better business.
About The Consumer Goods Forum
The Consumer Goods Forum (“CGF”) is a global, parity-based industry network that is driven by its members to encourage the global adoption of best practices and recommended standards that serves the consumer goods industry worldwide. Its members are the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries, and it reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Its member companies have an estimated revenue of exceeding €5.2 trillion and directly employ nearly 10 million people, with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain. The CGF is led by a Board of Directors formed of 53 CEOs – evenly split between retailers and manufacturers.
For more information, please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com
Will Kirk
Forster Communications
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