Food safety is paramount for Greenyard. We therefore believe that it must go beyond legal compliance and obtaining the necessary quality certificates. It is the responsibility of everyone working in the company – and not just the Quality Department. That is why Greenyard Fresh Belgium decided to participate in the QDNA project, which is managed and coordinated by Flanders’ Food and runs in cooperation with Ghent University.
The project will map the current food safety culture in the entire organisation, from production staff to senior management, using a mixed-method approach. Everything starts with a baseline measurement. Based on a comprehensive questionnaire, it evaluates how well our management systems are aligned with the risks associated with our operations, how effectively food safety is embedded in our organisation and how we, as individuals, deal with and experience food safety.

The collected data are used to conduct a gap analysis of the current food safety culture and identify potential routes for improvement. These will be the basis for a number of food safety culture interventions, which will be developed and implemented in a later stage of the project.

The learnings from the project will not only benefit Greenyard Fresh Belgium, but will also be used within the entire Greenyard group, as we will be working together with colleagues from other countries and divisions to help them take the necessary steps.