Food safety is a constantly evolving challenge. For professionals in the industry, the challenge of foodborne illness may be familiar, but for the wider public, the numbers may spark surprise. According to CDC reports, each year 48 million people get sick from foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 people die. 

The top challenges CDC perceives for America’s food safety are:

• Globalized supply chains: a single contaminated food item can cause illness in different parts of the country or the world, 
  
• Antimicrobial resistance, 
  
• Unexpected contamination sources: for example, flour and onions. 
  

In 2024 alone, the USDA’s FSIS conducted 7.7 million food safety and defense procedures across 7,100 establishments. Meanwhile, the FDA reported nearly 1,500 food and cosmetics recalls by mid-2025, compared to a total number of recalls in 2024 of 1,908. Despite these efforts, the risk – and the perception of risk – remains. 

Food Safety beyond Compliance 

Besides the obvious importance of delivering a safe product and protecting consumers’ health, food safety also matters for broader business reasons: 

• Brand protection: a single outbreak can undo decades of brand trust, 
  
• Reputation management: negative headlines live online indefinitely, 
  
• Consumer confidence: according to the IFIC Food & Health Survey, only 11% of Americans feel “very confident” in the safety of food supply. A majority (59%) believe profit is prioritized over safety. 
  

These numbers signal that regulation and inspection alone are not enough. Food and beverage manufacturers must foster a corporate culture of food safety that resonates at every level of the organization. 

What does Food Safety Culture mean? 

Food safety culture goes beyond implementing protocols, procedures and compliance. It reflects the shared values, beliefs and behaviors that place safety at the core of everyday decisions. 

As Lone Jesperson, Principal at Cultivate SA (a well-known food safety culture consultancy), emphasizes, every function has a role to play:

• Purchasing: selecting suppliers with strong food safety cultures, 
  
• Finance: where food safety risks are placed on par with financial risks, 
  
• Production: ensuring supply resources such that all leaders are trained and certified on HACCP principles. 
  

Crucially, senior leadership must set the tone. Without clear commitment from the top culture will remain an aspiration rather than a reality. 

Lessons from Industry Leaders 

Real-world examples demonstrate how leadership commitment can shift culture. Kwik Trip and Birchwood, two food manufacturers that experienced incidents, turned these events into instigators for food safety improvements and a culture change, with direct involvement from the C-suite. 

Some examples from initiatives from these case studies, reported by ms. Jesperson: 

• appointing an executive responsible for food safety and quality assurance, 
  
• delivering regular communications form the c-suite about food safety, making sure these messages land with all employees in the organization, 
  
• expanding the training program to include food safety and quality assurance, making it part of the leadership development program. 
  

These are just some of the measures that Kwik Trip and Birchwood implemented over time to realize a cultural shift towards food safety culture at their companies. It is a process that takes time which starts with creating urgency at the top. Both companies concluded that creating a food safety culture helped them “prevent food safety risks that would otherwise have hurt their business growth and continuity”. 

Continue the Conversation 

This article only scratches the surface – there is much more to explore and expertise to share. Join us for a panel discussion with industry experts who have boots on the ground in fostering a food safety culture across food and beverage manufacturers. Learn from their real-world experiences and best practices.