How do your employees respond to strangers on company premises?
Measure your Food Defense culture with an intrusion test
Bringing safe products on the market is top priority in the food industry. While intentional contamination of food may happen, it is (fortunately) not a frequent phenomenon. Nonetheless, it must receive some necessary attention. On the one hand, it may have a devastating impact on your company (in terms of reputation, public health and financial damage). On the other hand, customers and certification bodies impose requirements in the area of Food Defense which a food company has to meet. How do you boost Food Defense culture in your company?
Besides the fact that an insider threat must never be overlooked, the threat can also come from outside. It may be a tip-off if a stranger wanders around on the company premises and/or in production by himself. This person may not look "suspicious", but his actions may be suspicious: asking for access, repeatedly walking past the same places, looking around, asking for directions, getting lost,...
It is important that your employees notice this "peculiar" behaviour and react right away by addressing this person and accompanying him to the person responsible, or by drawing the attention of the person responsible to this.
But how do you make sure that your employees do this?
3 tips!
A broad and aware safety culture
Recognising odd or peculiar situations (strangers on your premises) demands permanent attention to everything incident management related. It is best to invest in your employees from the very beginning through training, regular testing, etc. This way, they will realise that Food Defense is also part of the company culture and will understand its importance.
Testing alone does not suffice
An intrusion test measures your employees’ awareness of peculiar situations. However, this awareness should first be taught through training or, even better, through “challenges” or playful initiatives.
Make your people a strong link
We believe that you can make a strong link from every employee. Your employees are the ears and eyes of the company. If they notice something, it is important that they know whom to contact. This will lower the threshold to quickly pick up on peculiar situations and pass them on.
Food Security helps my company by:
Organising a members’ meeting about Food Defense on the 30th of September 2021. Among other things, an expert will come and speak about behavioural change.
Conducting an intrusion test to evaluate your employees’ awareness of the presence of “strangers” at the production site.
Coaching quality managers in order to set up an internal system for regular intrusion testing.
Educating employees during a Food Defense session and providing tools (Memento) on sensitive situation awareness.
Learning points
How is your company’s Food Defense?
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