3 Food Safety Mistakes That Could Cost Your Business Its Reputation.

Hey Geeks,

Food safety mistakes can often seem small, but their impact can ripple far beyond the kitchen. Poor personal hygiene among staff, improper food storage, and neglecting allergen management are just a few examples of oversights that can tarnish a brand’s reputation and, more importantly, endanger lives.

In a world driven by social media, even a minor food safety incident can escalate into a full-blown PR crisis within hours.

The good news is that proactive measures—like proper training, clear labelling, and regular audits—can prevent these issues from arising. Here are the top 3 commonly occurred mistakes that you should avoid:

Mistake 1: Poor Personal Hygiene Among Staff

Proper handwashing techniques are one of the most critical aspects of food safety. While simple, neglecting this habit can lead to serious contamination and food hygiene issues. Another major concern is food handlers working while unwell, as illnesses can easily spread through food, endangering customers and damaging a business's reputation. Regular training is essential for maintaining hygiene standards, as it helps staff remain vigilant. A widely recommended practice is washing hands for at least 30 seconds, approximately the time it takes to sing 'Happy Birthday' twice.

Numerous real-world cases of foodborne illness outbreaks are directly linked to food safety errors like poor staff hygiene. These incidents not only pose serious public health risks but also cause business reputation loss. Now, if you are new to the food business or just starting out, the food safety reputation of your business can significantly influence consumer decisions. To prevent such outcomes, businesses can implement hygiene audits, organise regular refresher training, and enforce strict sick leave policies to ensure unwell employees stay home. These proactive measures play a vital role in safeguarding both customer health and a business's reputation.

Improper handwashing can lead to cross-contamination, which becomes difficult to trace during foodborne illness investigations. In my auditing experience, I have observed multiple touchpoints in workflows where contamination can occur. From changing uniforms to entering the production room, failing to wash hands correctly before handling food creates numerous opportunities for cross-contamination.

Installing a 30-second timer at sinks is an effective way to ensure proper handwashing duration. Workers should only stop washing once the timer rings. Additionally, some facilities use gantry systems that require soap to be dispensed before entry into production areas. This ensures that workers have no excuse to skip handwashing.

For verification, hygiene teams can perform random hand swabs on palms, fingers, and nails to confirm effective handwashing practices. Testing for Enterobacteriaceae, a group comprising over 30 genera and 100 species, provides a reliable indicator of hygiene standards.

Mistake 2: Improper Food Storage and Temperature Control

Improper food storage and temperature control are among the most common and dangerous mistakes in food safety. Whether you’re storing food in the refrigerator, freezer, or cupboard, there are many ways to prevent foodborne illnesses. Maintaining proper temperatures slows or halts the growth of harmful microorganisms like Salmonella, E. coli, and Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. Proper food storage practices are essential for ensuring safety.

Refrigeration plays a crucial role in food safety. Perishable items like meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and leftovers should be refrigerated or frozen immediately. Avoid leaving these items at room temperature for more than two hours—or one hour on hot days. To ensure proper cooling, avoid overfilling your fridge or freezer, as overcrowding restricts air circulation. The food safety best practices for refrigerators should be set at or below 4°C, while freezers should maintain -18°C. An appliance thermometer is a simple tool to help monitor these settings.

Labelling and stock rotation are equally important. Use a clear FEFO (First Expiry, First Out) system to ensure older stock is used first. For ready-to-eat foods like luncheon meats, consume them promptly to reduce the risk of bacterial growth, particularly Listeria. Always follow storage instructions on food labels, and if an item looks or smells suspicious, discard it immediately.

Another often-overlooked aspect of food storage is proper covering. Store food in sealed containers or bags, and check leftovers for spoilage. Keep in mind that pathogenic bacteria may not alter the appearance, smell, or taste of food. To avoid cross-contamination, keep raw and ready-to-eat foods separate, clean your fridge regularly, and promptly wipe up spills.

Freezing also requires attention. While freezing halts bacterial growth, it doesn’t kill bacteria. Food quality can deteriorate over time due to freezer burn, which affects texture but not safety. To prevent this, use airtight packaging and sealed containers. In a power outage, keep fridge and freezer doors closed; a full freezer can stay cold for 48 hours if unopened. After power is restored, check temperatures and inspect items for ice crystals or safe temperatures (4–5°C) before deciding to refreeze or cook.

When processing raw products, such as marinated meats, always consider the age of the raw ingredients. Marination may slow spoilage but does not extend shelf life. Older raw meat, even when processed later, will spoil more quickly than freshly marinated meat. Understanding shelf life and bacterial growth is key to correctly applying FEFO principles when refrigerating products.

Quality control (QC) teams should assess the remaining shelf life of raw materials to determine the final product's shelf life. By following these storage practices, you can minimise foodborne illness risks and maintain the quality of your ingredients. Simple steps like using thermometers and auditing storage regularly can safeguard both your customers and your reputation.

Mistake 3: Neglecting Allergen Management

One of the most high-profile and tragic cases of allergen mismanagement originates in the UK, where two Pret a Manger customers lost their lives after consuming products unknowingly containing allergens. These incidents underscore how devastating the consequences of poor allergen labelling and oversight can be—not only for the individuals affected but also for their families and the wider community.

In one case, Celia Marsh, a dental nurse with a severe dairy allergy, died after eating a ‘vegan’ wrap contaminated with milk protein. This was not an isolated event; in 2016, Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, a 15-year-old girl with a sesame allergy, also died after eating a Pret baguette containing sesame seeds without proper labelling. Both families have since advocated for reforms to prevent future tragedies, and their stories expose critical gaps in allergen management within the food industry.

The coroner investigating Celia’s death, Maria Voisin, recommended the creation of a mandatory UK-wide anaphylaxis register to track fatal and near-fatal allergic reactions. Such a system, she argued, would act as an early warning for allergy-related risks and could help health authorities and businesses take swift action to prevent similar incidents. Additionally, Voisin called for more robust labelling practices to ensure terms like ‘vegan’ or ‘free-from’ are used only when products are thoroughly tested and confirmed to be free from specific allergens.

These cases illustrate the severe consequences of neglecting allergen safety and underscore the need for proactive measures. Businesses must ensure all allergens are clearly labelled on their products, especially when making claims such as ‘vegan’ or ‘free-from.’ Staff should also be trained to understand the severity of cross-contact, which occurs when allergens are unintentionally transferred from one food product to another, and the steps required to prevent it. The Pret a Manger cases serve as a sobering reminder that food safety mistakes involving allergens can lead to irreversible harm, legal repercussions, and, most importantly, the loss of trust and human lives.

In countries like the UK, poor allergen labelling practice is a serious food safety violation. Addressing allergen safety is not merely about meeting legal requirements; it is about creating an environment where customers can trust your business with their health and well-being. These tragic incidents are a call to action for businesses to review and strengthen their allergen management practices, ensuring that no lives are lost due to avoidable mistakes.

How do Food Safety Mistakes Affect Brand Reputation?

The short answer is that it starts with the media, especially now with the widespread accessibility of social platforms for Millennials and Gen-Z. One small product safety issue can go viral in the media, and suddenly, the brand reputation you’ve built with significant marketing investment can collapse overnight.

A book I recently read about digital marketing highlighted that today’s consumers value community, but this very community is also quick to amplify updates, both good and bad. All they need is a spark. So why give them the opportunity?

My personal motto for brand and food safety is:

Food contamination risks come in many forms, which also include foodborne illnesses and contamination. This makes it crucial to invest in staff training even before implementing a food safety management system. Proactively exercising control measures is far more effective than trying to fix issues after they arise.

Some brands never recover from food safety scandals, so you must make every effort to reduce food safety risks for your business. That’s why it’s vital to tread carefully and prioritise safety at every step.

Before aiming for total food safety compliance or conquering food safety audits, focus on ensuring your team completes food safety training and build on that foundation.

If you have any questions or would like to talk more about our coaching, consulting, or auditing services, drop me an email at me@obsideonmedia.com.

Until next time~

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About the Writer:

Rayki is the founder of FoodCorp, a food safety management training provider dedicated to simplifying learning challenges and offering long-term guidance. With over 15 years of experience across various industries, he specialises in food safety systems, from audits to training, with a focus on empowering internal teams. Holding a master’s degree in food science and innovation from MMU (UK), Rayki combines expertise in food science and risk assessment to help organisations build resilient, tailored food safety management systems.