The Aotearoa Food Safety Culture Champions Community of Practice (CoP)
While technical systems and compliance standards are the backbone of food safety, it is the collective behaviours and mindsets of our people (i.e., the food safety culture) that determine how resilient those systems remain under pressure. While many individuals contribute to food safety, this Community of Practice is specifically dedicated to supporting the Food Safety Culture Champion.
The goal of this Community of Practice is to ensure Culture Champions are no longer working in isolation, providing them with a unified platform and peer-tested strategies to drive behavioural change across their organisations.
WHAT IS A FSC CHAMPION?
A FSC Champion is a strategic influencer who focuses on the behaviours and mindsets that ensure the team does the right thing naturally, even when things get busy, or no one is watching.
Unlike a Food Safety Champion, who focuses on daily compliance and shift-level actions, the Food Safety Culture Champion (the Enabler) focuses on organisational conditions and the why behind behaviours. This Food Safety Culture Champion role is typically held by those in influential positions, such as QA/Technical Managers, Site Managers, Training Coordinators, Operations Managers, or Regulatory Partners.
TOOLS AND RESOURCES
Access our curated library of evidence-based materials designed to help you measure, action, and sustain a positive food safety culture.
FOOD SAFETY CULTURE CHAMPION SUPPORT GUIDE:
A resource for navigating the transition from compliance to culture-led safety
INDUSTRY CASE STUDIES:
Real-world examples of NZ organisations that have successfully shifted their cultural baseline
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Further peer-tested strategies and measurement frameworks will be added to this hub as the initiative grows
TWO INITIATIVES, ONE VISION
The Aotearoa Food Safety Culture Champions CoP and the Food Safety Culture Lab are two separate, but aligned, initiatives.
While this CoP serves as the industry-facing community where best practices are put into action, the Research Lab focuses on providing foundational academic research and evidence-based tools. This partnership ensures that New Zealand’s food safety culture remains practical, industry-led, and grounded in world-class science.
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
Are you a Food Safety Culture Champion, or do you know someone who is?
We are looking for individuals at any level, from QA Managers, Site/Operations Managers, and HR Professionals to Regulatory and Government Partners (e.g., MPI, FSANZ), who are passionate about how people, behaviours, and values drive food safety outcomes.
MEMBERSHIP IS FREE:
There is no financial cost to join or access resources
COMMITMENT:
Approximately 10 hours per year (roughly 4 touchpoints throughout the year)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Upcoming Community of Practice events will be listed on the NZFSSRC Events page