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Dr. Zena E. Glover is a distinguished food safety and compliance leader with over 16 years of experience in regulatory oversight, quality assurance and operational excellence. She holds a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership, in which she thrives to drive transformative improvements in food safety culture and compliance.
Dr. Glover’s career spans both the public and private sectors, including her tenure at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she served in a supervisory role overseeing regulatory enforcement and compliance standards. Dr. Glover focuses on revolutionizing compliance training, integrating technology-driven solutions and fostering a safety-first mindset across the industry. Her leadership has led to significant reductions in food waste, improved audit performance and enhanced workforce engagement—all contributing to a safer and more sustainable food service environment. Through this article, Dr. Glover emphasizes the need for a proactive, engaging and continuously improving food safety culture that goes beyond routine compliance to ensure quality, safety and public health. Ensuring food safety is a fundamental responsibility within the food service industry, but compliance can often feel monotonous. Third-party audits, internal inspections and regulatory health codes occur rapidly, making it easy for food safety protocols to become routine rather than a proactive priority. However, true success in quality, health, safety and environment (QHSE) and environmental health and safety (EHS) management requires a culture of continuous improvement and engagement. Having worked in food safety and compliance for over 16 years, I have witnessed exemplary safety programs and those struggling. The workforce is diverse across various food service environments, ranging from newly hired employees to 20-year veterans. While experience is invaluable, it can also lead to complacency—imagine complacency leading to lackadaisical food production that creates gaps where bacteria and toxins can grow exponentially, compromising food quality and customer health. It happens more often than we would like to believe. Reinvigorating Food Safety Practices To elevate QHSE and EHS standards and mitigate risks, organizations must move beyond compliance as a mere obligation and instead cultivate a proactive safety culture. Here’s how. 1. Empower Staff with Knowledge and Real-Life Scenarios Employees at all levels must understand food safety protocols and why they matter. Keeping staff informed about real-time food safety recalls and industry trends brings the science behind corrective actions to life. In one instance, a proactive recall response plan I implemented helped prevent a significant health risk because employees were trained to recognize early contamination indicators. This hands-on approach fosters a culture where employees feel responsible for food safety rather than following checklists. 2. Engage Through Gamification and Live Interaction Training fatigue is a common challenge in food safety compliance. Traditional training methods can feel cumbersome and uninspiring, especially for a multi-generational workforce. Gamification and interactive sessions make learning engaging, leading to higher retention rates. In my current role, I helped implement a competitive team-based training model where employees earned points for correctly identifying risks in real-world scenarios. This increased participation and encouraged collaboration, making compliance a shared responsibility. 3. Leverage Technology for Real-Time Compliance Monitoring Integration Bluetooth and Wi-Fi-enabled sensors have revolutionized food safety compliance by monitoring real-time temperature, humidity and contamination risks. These tools reduce human error, improve efficiency and ensure consistency. For example, utilizing automated temperature sensors in walk-in coolers led to a 30% reduction in food waste while enhancing regulatory compliance. Organizations that embrace such technological advancements streamline their processes while reinforcing a strong food safety culture. 4. Incentivize Compliance to Drive Engagement and Ownership Employees are more likely to commit to compliance with clear goals and tangible incentives. Recognizing and rewarding employees for their contributions to food safety fosters a sense of ownership and accountability. Additionally, providing career development opportunities within food safety encourages long-term industry engagement. In one case, implementing a rewards-based compliance initiative resulted in a 30% improvement in audit performance as employees became more invested in food safety excellence. Food safety compliance should not be a passive obligation but an active, engaging and evolving process. By empowering employees, leveraging technology and making training interactive, organizations can reinvigorate their approach to food safety, ensuring that quality and safety remain top priorities. As leaders in the food industry, we have a collective responsibility to go beyond routine compliance and foster a culture of continuous improvement. A proactive and engaged workforce is the key to maintaining the highest food safety standards and protecting public health. By reinvigorating our approach, we strengthen our organizations and the trust and well-being of our communities.