 A recent report in Food Safety Magazine underscores a stubborn truth: retail foodservice still accounts for roughly 50 percent of U.S. foodborne disease outbreaks. In 2023 alone, this amounted to 307 outbreaks, causing 4,429 illnesses and seven deaths. Despite decades of technical advancements in contaminant management and traceability, the root issues remain unchanged.
A recent CDC Environmental Health Specialist Network study of over 300 restaurants revealed that weak food safety cultures — not merely gaps in processes — are a major risk factor behind these figures. Even the best-written food safety procedures will fail if staff feel inclined (or even pressured) to ignore them. Culture has to support people doing the right thing for the right thing to happen. But there are key levers for improvement: visible leadership, management and peer commitment around food safety, and adequate provision of gloves, soap, thermometers and other key resources. For CEOs and senior leaders, the takeaways are clear. Food safety management systems must be firmly embedded within a strong culture that defines values, accountability, and execution. When leaders make food safety a strategic priority that is supported with visible commitment and resources, operational failures decline and outbreak risks drop. These cultures drive compliance, ensuring staff feel supported when following policies. When leaders visibly enforce protocols — especially around critical issues like sick leave — they reinforce that safety matters more than an immediate shift or sale. Finally, when staff feel supported in valuing safety (over speed or productivity) they best protect your guests and your brand.  That may not necessarily be the case. Food safety regulators often have stories about finding health and safety hazards in restaurants known for having strong safety cultures. Food safety consultant Francine Shaw experienced one recently while visiting a restaurant brand known for its food safety: She used the restroom and found that the sink wasn’t working, then reported it to an employee who shrugged in response. Unfortunately, all it takes is one understaffed store, or one employee who doesn’t take their responsibility to protecting safety seriously, to threaten the safety record of a business. So what can operators do? Developing and maintaining a culture committed to safety is a process that starts at the top of the business, trickles down to all employees and needs ongoing reinforcement. It helps to develop and benchmark training programs that can keep track of training progress and areas for improvement. Understand what tools and people the team needs to protect safety. (Technology can be a useful aid here but it shouldn’t be a crutch or a replacement for knowing how to protect the safety of the business.) Adopt the mindset of a regulator when assessing your food safety standards. Where might there be pitfalls that could threaten your safety record?
 Food safety is everyone’s job – but does everyone in your organization sincerely believe that? They may not if people in different functional roles aren’t held accountable for upholding it. Consider this: If you have only a core team of people focused on food safety, they can become the pesky watchdogs of your business, setting up an adversarial relationship with staff in other functions. Spreading the responsibility around – for example, having someone in marketing take charge of food safety training videos from your CEO, or partnering with HR on an improved food safety rewards and recognition program – can help ensure everyone commits to your food safety culture.
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