Guest Columns

Perspective:
Dairy Sustainability

A case for food safety as sustainability

Mat Bartkowiak

Mat Bartkowiak is vice president of corporate responsibility and development for Nelson-Jameson, Marshfield, Wisconsin. He contributes this column exclusively for Cheese Market News®.

The food industry has an immense ability to make an impact when it comes to sustainability. One way to contribute to creating a sustainable world is to operate a safe food system, and by ensuring commitment to that goal by creating cultures of food safety within each of our operations along the entire supply chain. Along with reducing carbon footprints, tackling methane emissions, ensuring fair labor practices, animal welfare, etc., the vital importance of ensuring public health is something that we can tangibly embrace and make a difference in through the work we do providing safe, quality products to our friends, family and communities.

When one hears “sustainability,” it is easy to think of carbon neutrality, water conservation and numerous other ecological concerns. However, if one looks at the totality of “sustainability” through common standards like the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, ecological targets are only part of the sustainability equation. In addition to ecological work, there is much to do to guarantee a sustainable world, including targeting: “no poverty,” “quality education,” “industry, innovation and infrastructure,” “good health and well-being” and numerous other areas. When we think sustainably, we are thinking about mitigating risk and ensuring the vitality of numerous areas/aspects of our lives to better the world around us today, as well as providing an assurance of resources and quality of life for generations to come.

When thinking about sustainability more holistically, companies can start to take stock of what they want to accomplish, where their efforts can be the most impactful and what kinds of cultures they want to create and/or maintain to make sure this work is being done in a meaningful way. In the case of the UN’s “good health and well-being” goal or standards like the Global Reporting Initiatives’ (GRI) “customer health and safety,” we can see a purposeful call to action to make a difference in protecting public health as a shared responsibility and something that can help drive us to improve food safety cultures within our operations.

Although food safety is a non-negotiable, highest-priority expectation, there can be benefits for companies in recognizing, and indeed embracing, food safety as a part of their larger sustainability programs. As sustainability targets are often public facing, highlighting food safety as a company value can drive innovation and accountability. It can also be a potential anchor to foster food safety culture.

To begin, we can’t assume that customers all believe that all food producers’ commitment to food safety and public health is an absolute. A survey by the International Food Information Council last year found that among 3,000 survey respondents, there was a significant drop in overall confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply, from 70% in 2023 to 62% in 2024. The main reason cited from those that rated low confidence was “believing profit is prioritized over safety.” Through Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits poll, we find similar sentiment on the food supply (in that case, low confidence in the federal government’s ability to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply: 57%).

By embracing the role of food producers as agents of public health, food companies can connect with customers, be they B2B or retail, through their commitments to operational excellence, training and engagement. It is also a chance to share the successes of employees and the food safety professionals that continue to passionately drive this industry forward. Such narratives are powerful examples of the passion and dedication that the industry is putting into food safety, and a chance to be more transparent and proud of the cultures of food safety that are being fostered at companies that have made the commitment in both word and deed to food safety as a primary guiding objective.

For all the reasons above, committing to food safety as sustainable public health creates an opportunity to engage and foster company food safety culture. It provides a way to connect with employees that the topic is one that merits action, vigilance, dedication and continued education. Ask your HR department about recent polls by Deloitte and Monster regarding Gen Z that highlight how more potential employees are looking for meaning beyond their paychecks and seek purpose-driven employers that align with their values. By embracing food safety in larger sustainability reporting and marketing efforts, stakeholders can see, on a regular basis, how companies are engaged and what measures they are taking to ensure sustainable public health. Current employees then see the company’s commitment to all stakeholders that this is worth the time and effort to track and reflect upon regularly.

Embracing food safety as a sustainability target also makes financial sense. If one approaches sustainability as holistic risk mitigation, food safety is a no-brainer. For instance, the actual cost of food recalls and foodborne illness to food manufacturers is immediate and steep. Simple realities like the amount of food waste pulled/generated by food safety concerns (now estimated to be 2.4% of all food waste generated in the U.S., according to ReFed) is enough for both CFOs and climate activists alike to find commonality in their concern.
Thinking about food safety as sustainability mitigates risk and makes us search out more ways to efficiently do business that can resound with the bottom line as much as it does sustainability standards.

Ultimately, the decision to engage food safety as a sustainability target, or to pursue sustainability reporting at all, is up to each company given a variety of considerations. However, the benefits of being engaged as an active food safety steward should rightfully be weighed as we work toward a multi-faceted sustainable future ahead. We can accomplish this and more when working together.

CMN

The views expressed by CMN’s guest columnists are their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of Cheese Market News®.

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