Food safety climate in food processing organizations: Development and validation of a self-assessment tool

A definition of food safety culture and food safety climate is offered and key components are identified. Next, a self-assessment tool with twenty eight indicators and a Likert based answer scale was developed and validated by experts and tested in a pilot study. The proposed tool enables food companies to go beyond traditional food safety management, based on technological and managerial approaches, and mirrors the human dimension in food safety.