The entire food industry, from paddock to plate, has spent decades focusing food safety training on meeting compliance requirements rather than prioritizing the people who consume the food. This approach has served its purpose, but it is time for change. We must bring the consumer into the training room—figuratively speaking—and redesign food safety education and training with a sharper focus and impact. 

Consumers are notably absent from our education and training programs and frameworks. Their needs, vulnerabilities, expectations, and trust are rarely part of the conversation. Yet, these are the very people affected when something goes wrong—whether through foodborne illness, hospitalizations and ongoing care, allergic reactions, or worse.

Why the Status Quo is Not Working

The evidence speaks for itself: If the food industry's current approach to training were truly effective, we would not be witnessing the ongoing prevalence of food safety incidents. In previous articles, the authors have highlighted a myriad of well-publicized food safety incidents. This is a global issue (Table 1).

For many in the food industry, food safety is a "ticking-the-box" exercise. Employees complete poorly designed, largely knowledge-based online training with little understanding, limited supervision, and no accountability. Many of these programs fail to adhere to sound adult learning principles, instead delivering content in a passive, "one-size-fits-all" manner that fails to engage employees meaningfully. As a result, training becomes disconnected from the complexities of food safety within the workplace. Employees are not equipped to apply what they have learned in practical, job-specific contexts and are often not held responsible for their actions. In many cases, neither are the food business nor its leadership.

These failures extend beyond simply not applying or prioritizing food safety practices. They stem from a deeper issue—a fundamental gap in true understanding, accountability, and a collective commitment to safeguarding consumer health. At their core, these failures reflect a lack of genuine knowledge that goes beyond basic compliance and a comprehensive understanding of the risks and consequences. Food businesses have been led to believe that passing a compliance audit or obtaining a training certificate equates to being "food safe." The reality is far more complex. True food safety demands deeper knowledge that is actively applied, reinforced across all levels of an organization, and prioritized to protect consumer well-being.

The publicly reported statistics shown in Table 1 highlight the global burden of foodborne illnesses and emphasize the urgent need for effective food safety training across all sectors of the food industry. The authors recognize that varying methodologies and recording systems are employed across countries, which may influence the reported data.

Food safety is an outcome of culture, behavior, leadership, and decision-making—not just paperwork or simply monitoring the temperatures of cool rooms and measuring food temperatures with digital systems.

Why the Change is Necessary

Compliance alone is not enough to ensure the safety of the people we serve. Consumers must be at the heart of every decision made in the factory, the kitchen, and the foodservice operation. For this change to happen, we must first confront the barriers that hinder effective food safety training.

“Without a sufficient number of employees and tools, training often becomes a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, overlooking the unique requirements and nuances of each job role.”

Despite the best intentions, food safety training often falls short because of three key barriers:

1. Lack of time: Proper training and reinforcement are often sacrificed due to time constraints, resulting in fragmented or ineffective learning. Employees are not equipped to apply their knowledge in workplace scenarios.
2. Limited resources and staffing: Many businesses face challenges in allocating the necessary resources for effective training delivery and documentation. Without a sufficient number of employees and tools, training often becomes a "one-size-fits-all" approach, overlooking the unique requirements and nuances of each job role. Competent employees are needed to train others or to complete the tasks to enforce safe practices.
3. Insufficient leadership support: When leadership fails to prioritize training, it sends a clear message to employees that food safety is not truly valued. This undermines the potential of any training initiative, as it is seen as a "box-ticking" exercise rather than a serious business and consumer safety imperative.

These barriers are not technical; they are strategic and cultural. At the core, they highlight a fundamental flaw in the current approach: food safety training is treated as a compliance requirement, not as an essential investment in employee growth and development, public health, and consumer trust.

The Consumer's Role in Food Safety: Why Their Perspective Matters

Imagine if your food safety skills sessions incorporated the voices and experiences of the consumers who rely on safe food. What if, instead of focusing solely on procedures and food law, we upskilled food production and food handling employees to think like the people they serve—people with allergies, young children, elderly parents, or those with compromised immune systems?

Consumers expect and deserve safe food to protect their health and wellbeing. Yet, in most instances, they are not represented at all in food safety training programs. This needs to change.

Global Consumer Confidence Survey

Table 2 shows consumer confidence in food safety by country.

A major issue highlighted in recent global food safety surveys is the sharp decline in consumer confidence. In the U.S., confidence in the safety of the food supply has fallen to a 13-year low, according to the International Food Information Council's (IFIC's) 2025 Food and Health Survey.¹ Despite advances in digital technologies that should enhance food safety, this trend continues in the opposite direction. Many consumers feel that profit is prioritized over safety and that the food industry is not working together effectively to ensure consumer protection. 

Table 3 outlines key consumer concerns about food safety, highlights where current training programs fall short, and shows how a redesigned, consumer-centred approach can bridge these gaps, ultimately improving both industry practices and consumer trust.

Food safety skills sessions for production workers and food handlers with the consumer's perspective in mind address these concerns directly (Table 4). They ensure that food safety is not just about avoiding breaches; it is about making informed, ethical decisions every day that protect real people.

Training Programs Falling Short: Industry Admits the Problem

The 2024 Global Food Safety Training Survey,² now in its eighth year, compiled insights from over 3,000 food operations across manufacturing, agriculture, packaging, distribution, retail, and foodservice. Conducted by a consortium of respected organizations, the survey reveals widespread shortcomings in how training is designed, delivered, and measured in the food industry.

Despite regulatory compliance being met in many instances, training efforts often fall short of driving actual behavior change that will lead to improved public health outcomes. According to the survey, nearly three-quarters of global food businesses agreed with the statement: "Despite our training efforts, we still have employees not following established protocols on the floor."

Furthermore, one in four companies rated their training programs as "poor," while 60 percent said they were merely "sufficient." Just six in ten companies believed that training had a positive impact on productivity, and a significant number felt it did not affect retention, with 10 percent reporting it harmed employee engagement.

These results mirror what consumers have expressed in surveys worldwide: a concern that businesses prioritize profit or compliance over genuine food safety outcomes. If three-quarters of companies are failing to translate training into frontline behavior, then how can the public be confident that the food they eat is safe?

This disconnect between training and on-the-job actions highlights an alarming gap—consumers may assume employees are well-trained, but in many cases, businesses themselves admit this is not true in practice. These skills gaps not only undermine operational efficiency; more importantly, they compromise consumer safety. If frontline employees are failing to follow basic protocols despite training, this puts consumers at risk of foodborne illness, allergen exposure, and contamination. The direct consequence is a growing erosion of consumer trust—as evidenced by the decline in confidence in food safety reported globally.

Despite the challenges, some organizations have already led the charge in improving standards of food quality and safety. Nestlé demonstrates the company's commitment to consumer protection by embedding food safety into its core business principles. Managers must promote awareness and knowledge of safety and health to employees, contractors, and anyone else related to or impacted by the organization's business activities.

Industry Signals: Training is Often a Low Priority

Despite the mounting challenges in food safety, industry data consistently shows that food safety training is not prioritized. This is not just a concern for production employees and food handlers; it provides evidence of a systemic issue across the entire food system, from business leaders to training and certification bodies.

A key finding from corporate risk disclosures in the UK revealed that only 17 percent of food and beverage companies listed food safety as one of their top ten business risks. This claim is consistent with findings from various global food safety surveys and corporate risk reports conducted by industry organizations. Businesses tend to focus on financial risks, cost-cutting, and competition, relegating food safety training to the status of a non-essential overhead. This mindset persists in many organizations, where training is viewed merely as a cost to be minimized, rather than as a vital investment that drives operational efficiency, reduces risk, and builds lasting consumer trust.

“Shift the narrative from 'how to wash your hands' to 'how hand hygiene protects the people who eat our food.'”

Practical Steps: Making the Consumer Part of Training

To embrace consumer-first food safety training, first humanize the risk. Do not just talk about "cross-contact" or Listeria. Show videos or tell stories of real people impacted by food safety failures. Use case studies of local incidents. Make it real. Make it memorable.

Secondly, redesign onboarding with consumer outcomes in mind. Onboarding new employees should go beyond just showing them how to perform a task; it should compel them to understand why it matters. Every new employee should not only learn the mechanics of food safety but also recognize the real-life consequences of their actions. They should be able to answer: Who am I protecting? What are the risks if something goes wrong?

Shift the narrative from "how to wash your hands" to "how hand hygiene protects the people who eat our food." This shift connects basic tasks to their on-the-job impact and helps employees understand their role in the bigger picture of food safety.

As part of employee onboarding, introduce the human aspect into focus with examples like those shown below:

• "You're working on a production line where you're packaging ready-to-eat meals. If there's cross-contamination, it could lead to food poisoning."
• "You're preparing food for a long-term care home where residents have compromised immune systems."
• "You're making gluten-free meals for customers with celiac disease."
• "You're a chef working in a restaurant, and your customers include pregnant women, children, and the elderly. Undercooking raw food or incorrectly storing potentially hazardous food can lead to cross-contamination and put lives at risk."

Drive home the point that these are not abstract concepts or compliance requirements. These are real people who rely on the safety of the food you prepare. This is not just training—this is an investment in consumer trust and well-being.

Leadership Must Champion the Shift

None of this works unless leaders support and model it. If leaders treat upskilling food safety sessions as a box to tick, then so will their teams. However, if leaders actively participate in learning, openly discuss food safety risks, and make consumer protection a business-wide priority, then change becomes possible.

Bring the consumer's voice into boardrooms and safety briefings. Challenge assumptions. Make food safety part of performance evaluations—not just for frontline workers, but for leaders and executives as well.

The Call for Change

The time for incremental change is over. With foodborne illnesses continuing to impact consumers worldwide and public confidence in food safety at an all-time low, it is clear that the food industry must move past minimum compliance and adopt a mindset of true continuous improvement. Consumer safety must become the driving force behind all training efforts, or risk undermining public trust in the entire food supply chain.

Conclusion

It is clear that food safety training, as it stands, is not enough to protect consumers or enhance public confidence in the food industry. We must challenge the status quo, rethink food safety education and training, and create a system where consumer health and empowerment are at the heart of everything we do. This requires bold leadership, ongoing investment in employee skills, and a commitment to meaningful change. The future of food safety and the health and well-being of millions of people around the world depend on it.

Acknowledgment

This work was supported in part by a grant from Dairy Management Inc. to Dr. Abby Snyder.

References

1. International Food Information Council (IFIC). "2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: A Focus on Food & Ingredient Safety." July 28, 2025. https://ific.org/research/2025-ific-food-health-survey/.
2. Food Safety Magazine Editorial Team. "Global Survey of Food Businesses Finds Many Food Safety Training Programs Only Meet Bare Minimum." Food Safety Magazine. May 10, 2024. https://www.food-safety.com/articles/9453-global-survey-of-food-businesses-finds-many-food-safety-training-programs-only-meet-bare-minimum.