Promoting and Celebrating Food Safety Culture

By Krystal Register, MS, RDN, LDN, Senior Director, Health & Well-being, FMI, and Ashley Eisenbeiser, MS, CFS, Senior Director, Food and Product Safety Programs, FMI 

As we celebrate World Food Safety Day today, June 7, 2022, we recognize the meaningful relationships between food suppliers, retailers and food safety professionals who ensure the products our industry sells to consumers are safe. Today and every day, we are thankful to the FMI community for prioritizing food safety as a shared responsibility—from farm to fork. 

Safe food is essential to human health and well-being. Only when food is safe can we fully reap the nutritional, mental and social benefits of sharing a safe meal. As part of our industry’s commitment to selling safe products, food suppliers and retailers promote the importance of food safety by equipping families with food safety skills and healthy eating habits necessary to enjoy a safe, healthy and nutritious meal at home.  

Educating Consumers on Food Safety Best Practices 

Even as the food industry continues to promote proper food safety practices and encourage vital food safety management programs, businesses must continue to raise the standards to help improve the safety of the food supply. FMI is proud of the food safety training, programs, resources and guidance that set the tone for successful food safety cultures. 

The importance of food safety for the consumer is an integral part of the overall role food plays in encouraging health and well-being. Equipping consumers with foundational food safety practices such as cleaning, separating, cooking and chilling can help prevent foodborne illness. 

FMI also advocates for the advancement of consumer food safety education through support of The Partnership of Food Safety Education (PFSE) to provide resources to help consumers reduce their risk of foodborne illness. Furthermore, FMI is committed to including messaging on the promotion of food safety awareness and education as part of our work with members to provide input for the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.

Training Employees through SafeMark^® 

A third of the top 75 food retailers use SafeMark^® to train and certify their employees in food safety procedures. More than 11,000 grocery stores use SafeMark for manager training and certification and food handler training, and tens of thousands of food managers have been certified using SafeMark. If your retail team would like to explore SafeMark further, please contact us. 

Expanding Global Food Safety through the Safe Quality Food Institute

The Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI, provides a global food safety quality certification program based on sound scientific principles to help food producers keep the supply chain safe. More than 13,000 certified food manufacturing sites in more than 40 countries and six continents are certified SQF sites. As the largest GFSI-recognized Certified Program Owner (CPO) in North America, SQFI does so much more than write and maintain the SQF codes. The robust SQF library of training materials, courses and resources will help teams navigate the daunting terrain of food safety management certification. For more information on SQF training and certification, please contact us. 

Every individual in the food system plays a vital role in fostering a robust food safety culture. This World Food Safety Day, thank you for your leadership in food safety and your support for FMI programs that help raise the bar for our entire industry.