THE HUMAN FACTOR: IMPROVING FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY
THROUGH A FOCUS ON PEOPLE AND CULTURE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Presented at the 9th Annual Global Food Safety Congress, 9-10 September 2014, Madrid
As demand for food increases in line with rapid global
population growth, risks and challenges related to food safety
are also growing. The persistence of food-borne illness, several
high-profile food recalls, and even the increasingly discerning
end-consumers have put much pressure on all stakeholders
within the food value chain to ensure the safety of their
products. Failure or contamination along any point of the
value chain can manifest into compliance/legal consequences,
material cost implications and reputational damage. Our
experience at DuPont – through extensive presence within
the food value chain – is that addressing food safety using an
integrated approach that emphasizes cultural improvement,
rather than focusing solely on technical solutions, is of
paramount importance. Behind the primary contributors to
foodborne illnesses, are human behaviors that can be changed
through a shift in organizational culture.
During the course of the workshop, the components of building
a sustainable Food Safety and Quality (FS&Q) system were
discussed from several unique angles. To summarize, a few key
points were discussed:
“ Behind the primary contributors
to foodborne illnesses, are human
behaviors that can be changed through
“
a shift in organizational culture.
• FS&Q excellence is a choice that companies and their
leadership make. Industry leaders choose and commit to drive
a positive FS&Q culture because of the value they place on
the safety of their customers and employees. Their leadership
demonstrates commitment with a coherent vision, a unified
managing system that fully mobilizes the entire organization to
build value chain alignment, high performing capabilities and
public commitment and advocacy.
• FS&Q culture is the lifeblood of FS&Q excellence. Driving
the organization’s alignment on FS&Q values means enabling
the employees to make the right choices in a world of increasing
complexity where procedures and technology cannot address
all possible situations. Managing supply chain in food industry
requires a complex range of activities, processes and systems to
address fragmentation of risks and ever increasing requirements
from both the consumers and regulation. In FS&Q terms, the
focus on prevention and collaboration, rather than detection
and competition on individual programs becomes imperative. In
other words organizational mindset needs to change as much as
people behaviors .
• People are at the core of an effective FS&Q culture. Aligning
individuals’ attitudes and values with those of an organization is
a transformational process, a journey. In DuPont, we believe in
leadership role modelling, we help the leaders to share the vision
and take the organization along with them in the execution, we
help the management to employ the reinforcing mechanisms –
both positive and negative – in an effective way and we put in
place tailored skills development programs in order to raise the
collective engagement through confidence.
 THE HUMAN FACTOR: IMPROVING FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY THROUGH A FOCUS ON PEOPLE AND CULTURE

FROM STRATEGY TO EXECUTION

Participants engaged in a rich discussion on how to move from a compliance mindset to an effective FS&Q culture, and, ultimately,
sustainable performance. When asked which elements are essential to move from FS&Q policy statements to effective FS&Q
implementation, the audience provided the following feedback:

Supporting Structure
Communication Consequences for Non-Conformance

Adherence to Standards Technical Training

Leadership Commitment
Risk Culture

Behavior-Based Programs
Core Values
Continuous Improvement

Leadership commitment was identified as the primary Chart 1: What makes people go “beyond compliance” in FS&Q?
success factor, followed by communication and core values.
Such responses indicate that a strong corporate vision and
commitment to FS&Q, reinforced through communication, is Skills
an imperative in translating strategy to execution. Values and Beliefs 20%
Leadership Mandate
We at DuPont also view leadership commitment as critical;
indeed, leaders have an enormous influence in transforming
the performance of a company. Leadership has the power to
47%
mobilize the entire organization to move in a direction that
can both generate profit and fully incorporate the ethos of
33%
FS&Q into the operating culture and brand of the company.
By articulating an enduring commitment to FS&Q publicly
and privately, they can develop a sense of commitment and
responsibility that is shared by each and every employee.
Chart 2: What are the best tools for inspiring people to act with FS&Q
in mind?
The audience also provided input on what inspires people to
go “beyond compliance” in FS&Q and act with FS&Q in Rigorous Training

mind (see charts 1 & 2). They identified appropriate skills and
training, as well as strong values and beliefs as the best means
Knowledge Sharing 13%
Strong Process/Facility
of motivating employees to achieve FS&Q excellence. Such Design
proactive elements are key components of a corporate FS&Q
culture. It is interesting to note that the compliance-driven
47%
tools were not selected as the most effective. 40%
EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SUPPLY CHAIN
Participants also discussed the means through which companies can best engage with partners in the supply chain to ensure the safety
and quality of food, from farm to fork. Traceability was identified as a key issue in achieving this goal. When asked which organizational
behaviors are critical to drive improved traceability in the supply chain, the audience gave the following insights:

Process Knowledge Sharing

Partnership
Training Support

Observations & Dialogues

Data Exchange Audits & Inspections

Performance Evaluations
Crisis Co-planning

Implementation Assistance
Best Practices Sharing

Data exchange was considered to be the primary success factor,
followed by process knowledge sharing and performance
evaluations. These responses indicate that closer collaboration
and a greater emphasis on auditing would lead to better
outcomes. This was supported by audience responses to
questions related to which processes, activities and tools are most
effective for engaging and driving FS&Q discipline within the
supply chain (see charts 3 & 4).
At DuPont , we believe that collaboration within the value
chain is critical, as well as creating clear behaviors expectations
and exerting influence on suppliers throughout the value
chain to develop employees’ behaviors that are conducive
to achieving zero FS&Q incidents. Often, companies do
not include behavior considerations in the context of a
supplier relationship, relying on reactive tools – auditing and
performance reporting – rather than proactive tools – training,
near miss reporting and active supervision.

Chart 3: Which processes or activities are most critical to driving Chart 4: What are the best tools for engaging and driving FS&Q
FS&Q improvements in the supply chain? discipline in the supply chain?

Reporting & Auditing

Strong Contractual Provisions
Training & Awareness
Orientation & Training
Certification & Requirements
Auditing & Evaluation

17% 17%
17% 17%
66% 66%
 THE HUMAN FACTOR: IMPROVING FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY THROUGH A FOCUS ON PEOPLE AND CULTURE

THE ROLE OF PEOPLE AND CULTURE

Another topic of discussion concerned the means through which companies can improve the way in which they proactively engage
with employees on FS&Q, while concurrently building a strong FS&Q culture. When asked what would be the most effective levers for
organizations to engage with people to improve FS&Q performance, the audience provided the following feedback:

Role Models
Expected Behaviors

Leadership Commitment

Skills Development

Aligned Processes
Equipment & Technology

Chart 5: What tools are the most effective? Skills development was considered to be the key success factor,
followed by communication, leadership commitment and
Performance Standards effective standards. These responses indicate a strong emphasis
Training & Coaching on training and education, with cultural elements and standards
Inspections/Audits 27% as reinforcement. There was a distinct prioritization of standards
and reporting pertaining to the most effective tools and
communication channels (see charts 5 & 6).
46% We at DuPont agree that strong monitoring mechanisms are
required, and audits, standards and certification requirements do
27% play a role in setting expectations and reinforcing a company’s
commitment to FS&Q excellence. However, we encourage an
equal emphasis on proactive, direct engagement with employees
Chart 6: Which communication means and channels have the
greatest influence on FS&Q outcomes? and suppliers, using multiple tools and channels that focus more
on prevention than compliance.
Consistent Reporting

6% 6%
Communication from
Leadership
Personal Engagement
on Site
13%
Newsletters
50%
Public Awards
33%
25%
A CULTURE OF IMPROVEMENT
As alluded to previously, we at DuPont, with our experience
working throughout the food value chain – have seen that a focus
on culture and human behavior can significantly improve food
safety and quality outcomes. Technology, equipment, procedures
and inspections are not enough; in our experience, up to 80%
of incidents can be attributed to human error. Building a strong
food safety culture enables employees at all levels to identify,
understand the risks associated with the products they produce
and how to effectively mitigate these risks.
And yet, cultivating such a culture has proven to be a significant
challenge for most companies. At DuPont, we use the DuPont
Bradley Curve (see box 1) as a means of understanding and
benchmarking the journey towards building a robust corporate
culture. In order to provide a snapshot of the level of cultural
maturity in the companies represented within the audience, we
posed three questions to the audience that relate to specific
stages of cultural development. Based on the responses collected
(see charts 7, 8 & 9 overleaf ) the majority would be classified as
either reactive or dependent. This indicates a strong reliance on
compliance.
Behavior-based programs are effective to move an organization
from the reactive to dependent, or making the cultural bridge to
independent phase. Further to Interdependent stage, when the
driving values are the “care- for-others” and organizational pride,
while behavior-based programs are still a core part of a cultural
improvement program, approaches based on psychology applied
to safety will be instrumental in shifting an individual’s own
beliefs and values and that is where we, at DuPont, have built
leading edge experience.

Box 1: DuPont Bradley Curve

The Bradley curve is a graphic representation of the correlation between culture and incident
rates and to express the strength of company culture. Organizations evolve through four
phases of cultural maturity development, transitioning from a compliance-driven culture
to the culture of choice as they become more effective in managing safety, building stronger
layers of protection from risk, empowering people to make the right choices.

COMPLIANCE CHOICE
 THE HUMAN FACTOR: IMPROVING FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY THROUGH A FOCUS ON PEOPLE AND CULTURE

Chart 7: How do you think employees approach FS&Q issues? EVENT ATTENDEES
• 3M Food Safety
They respond by following their natural instinct
19% • ADM
• Agrokor
REACTIVE • Auchan
Act according to rules and procedure 67% • Avebe
• BASF
DEPENDENT • Biomerieux
They have a deep personal commitment 3% • Brazzale
• Bureau Veritas Iberia
INDEPENDENT • Calidad Pascual
• Campari
As a group goal 11% • Campofrio
• Carlsberg Supply Company
INTERDEPENDENT
• Celanese
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 • Chr Hansen
% of respondents • Coca-Cola Europe Group
• Coop Denmark
• Danone Nutricia
• Dia Group
• DNV GL
• Dr. Oetker
• Einar Willumsen
• European Commission, Health
& Consumers Directorate-General
• Ferrero
Chart 8: How is senior management inspiring employees to implement FS&Q properly? • Fipros
• Food Quality News
• Fooddrinkeurope
• Frutarom
Cultivate organizational pride 32% • Gategroup Airline Solutions
• General Mills
INTERDEPENDENT
• Groupe Bel
Apply rigorous rules and procedures
DEPENDENT
21% • Grupo Empresarial Palacios Ali
• Grupo Zena
• Hipp Werk Georg
• Hypred Iberica
They delegate to functional experts
REACTIVE
40% • International Flavors & Fragrances
• International Nut & Dried Fruit
Council
Promote individual recognition 7%
INDEPENDENT
• Intertek Food Services
• Iris
• Jéronimo Martins
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 • Kerry Ingredients & Flavours
• Konzum
% of respondents • Lamb Weston/Meijer
• Ledo
• LRQA
• Lucta
• Mahou
• Mccormick Uk
• Nordic Sugar
• Nutriset
• Orkla
Chart 9: What motivates your employees to act on FS&Q? • Pepsico
• Puratos
• Qualifood
• Roquette Frères
Compliance 52% • Rousselot
• Santini
REACTIVE
• Selerant
Employment consequences 29% • Sensitech
• SHS Drinks Division
DEPENDENT • Siemens
• SIG Combibloc
Caring for the greater good
14% • Sparta Systems
INDEPENDENT • Starbucks Coffee EMEA
• Stora Enso Oyj, Heinola
Personal values
5%
INTERDEPENDENT
Fluting Mill
• The Safe Consortium
• Tomra Sorting
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 • Tomra Systems
• TÜV Nord International
% of respondents
• TÜV Rheinland Group
• Unicer Bebidas
CONCLUSION
An effective FS&Q culture is defined by an environment where ABOUT DUPONT
employees hear, feel and see FS&Q all around them. The culture of DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS) is one of
anticipation, the culture of openness and collaboration and the culture 12 DuPont businesses. Bringing customers the
of operating discipline are the key pillars of an integrated operating benefits of an integrated global consulting services
model that includes strong FS&Q management system that support and process technology enterprise, DSS applies
the commitment to zero incidents. DuPont’s real-world experience, history of innovation,
problem-solving success, and strong brands to help
Food safety culture leadership requires engagement on multiple fronts: organizations transform their workplaces and work
• Food safety & quality must be adopted as a company-wide value; cultures to become safer, more operationally efficient
• A continuous focus should be placed on building risk management and more environmentally sustainable. For additional
skills to ensure that employees know the risks, understand the crucial information about DuPont Sustainable Solutions
nature of risk management, and effectively manage those risks; and its commitment to protecting people and the
• The technologies, operating procedures testing and audting are environment, please visit:
aligned to global standards; www.sustainablesolutions.dupont.co.uk
• The workforce is trained and empowered to act;
• Communication and collaboration within the organization and in
the value chain is encouraged; and DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class
• The company is advocating for regulations and practices that raise science and engineering to the global marketplace in
standards across the industry and contributing to public education the form of innovative products, materials, and services
in food safety. since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating
with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought
We are proud to say that we recognize DuPont in all of these critical leaders we can help find solutions to such global
dimensions. challenges as providing enough healthy food for people
everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels,
DuPont Sustainable Solutions is the partner of choice for food and protecting life and the environment. For more
companies. We leverage the DuPont broad-based food industry information about DuPont, please visit:
presence and expertise internally and externally, in our value chain www.dupont.com
relationships and in our consulting engagements, to help our clients
move on the path to excellence.

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