Why Food Safety Culture Isn’t Moving—and What Leaders Can Do About It
May 28, 2025
We all know food safety matters. But knowing isn’t the issue. The issue is how we lead.
Across the food industry, leaders are doubling down on protocols, procedures, and audits—yet food safety culture still struggles to move forward. Why?
Because we’re focusing on compliance, not commitment.
Compliance is about rules, checklists, and documentation. Necessary? Yes. Sufficient? Absolutely not.
Commitment is different. It’s personal. It’s what drives someone to speak up when they see something off. To pause a production line. To protect the customer, even if no one’s watching.
And commitment doesn’t grow from SOPs—it grows from culture.
And culture doesn’t change from policies—it changes through leadership.
The Leadership Gap No One’s Talking About
Let’s get real: the people in positions to shift food safety culture—managers, senior managers, directors—often aren’t equipped with the skills they need to make it happen. Not because they’re not smart or capable. But because we’ve deprioritized human-centered leadership development in a technical, results-driven industry.
And the data proves it:
🔍 83% of organizations say it’s important to develop leaders at all levels—but only 5% have actually done so.
(Brandon Hall Group)
We’re asking leaders to inspire ownership and foster commitment, but we haven’t trained them on the emotional intelligence, coaching skills, and relational tools required to lead culture—not just manage tasks.
When leaders lack the tools to engage humans, all they can do is enforce rules. And rules don’t inspire behavior change—relationships do.
The Business Cost of Weak Culture
Still not convinced? Let’s talk numbers.
📈 Companies with strong cultures grow revenue by 42.2%, compared to just 10.1% for companies with weak cultures.
(Culture First & Stanford Research)
Culture isn’t “fluffy.” It’s performance-critical. And food safety is a culture issue. You can have the best HACCP plans in the world, but if your team is afraid to speak up, if frontline staff don’t feel seen, if supervisors are burned out and disengaged—your systems will fail.
This is about people. And people follow the tone leaders set.
The Missing Link: Leadership That Connects Culture to Outcomes
At Catalyst, we use a simple model that ties leadership → culture → outcomes.
Here's how it works:
- Outcomes (like strong food safety performance) depend on
- Culture (the beliefs, norms, and behaviors that shape decisions), which is driven by
- Leadership (how people are treated, how trust is built, how priorities are communicated)
When leadership is weak or one-dimensional—focused only on results, rules, or tasks—culture gets stale. And outcomes don’t improve.
But when leaders are coached to build trust, model vulnerability, engage people in purpose, and listen with empathy? Culture transforms. And results follow.
Yet here’s the tension: leadership development is often the first thing cut and the last thing prioritized. That’s why progress stalls.
The Good News? This Is Changeable.
We’ve worked with food companies around the globe and we’ve seen what’s possible when technical leaders are equipped with the human skills to match their expertise.
They become culture shapers. Trust builders. Behavior influencers.
They don’t just push compliance—they ignite commitment.
And food safety becomes more than a requirement—it becomes a shared responsibility, owned by all.
If You’re Ready to Move Culture, Start with Leadership
Don’t just invest in more training modules, stricter protocols, or longer audits. Invest in your leaders. Give them the tools to coach, connect, and communicate. Help them grow the emotional intelligence to inspire—not just enforce.
Because when your leaders change, your culture shifts.
And when your culture shifts, your outcomes soar.
