For those leading the food and beverage industry, there is tremendous opportunity for growth—but with growth comes risks that can negatively impact operations, profitability, and reputation.

Ensuring that non-conforming product is never created—or at least never arrives at customers' doorsteps—is invaluable in the food industry. Reduced downgrade, less rework, and decreased out-of-specification product are all benefits of mistake proofing.

To improve the food safety culture of an organization, it is critical that a key focus be the frontline employees. A proven tool to improve frontline employee engagement in effective food safety behaviors is the concept of "nudging"—a regular cadence of small, easily controlled, and easily taken actions to make a change process more effective, manageable, and sustainable. This article will showcase real-life examples of nudging and share successful examples.

Food safety and quality systems do not have to be cumbersome and difficult to follow. The 5S system, when launched and properly maintained, can have a positive impact on food safety and quality programs, as well as operational efficiency.

As the U.S. emerges cautiously from the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is resuming standard operations for domestic inspections while continuing mission-critical work abroad.