General Mills Spends $16M on Food Safety Efforts

General Mills increased its spending on food safety-related projects by $3 million in 2016 to a total of $16 million, the company’s recently-released 2017 Global Sustainability Report outlined.

“Safety is a priority focus area for our company and part of our culture,” the General Mills report said. “Leading with safety – both the safety of our employees in the workplace and the food they make – is one of the key operating principals that guides our work.”

Last year, the food company employed more than 600 trained professionals and over 55 certified quality engineers to monitor food safety at its facilities around the globe. General Mills said 100% of its facilities worldwide are audited by third parties to ensure operations meet globally accepted food safety practices.

“As General Mills operations expand around the world, we carry with us our commitment to food safety and strict adherence to the processes and expectations have been developing for more than half a century,” the report explained. “Our standards are the same in developed and developing countries, though the food safety challenges vary widely across locations. We tailor training accordingly, building the capacity to ensure globally harmonized food safety standards.”

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Under the company’s food safety programs, suppliers, partners, industry peers and regulatory agencies are engaged to advance standards, according to the report. In 2014, General Mills worked with the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) to create a Food Safety Training share group to discuss best practices. The company helped transition that group into the Food Safety Learning Alliance (FSLA) consortium in 2016, an initiative that focuses on promoting and improving food safety training within the food industry.

General Mills also notes that sanitation is a major part of the company’s food safety efforts.

“Proper sanitation is a foundation of food safety and an area where General Mills has developed significant expertise. Our Global Sanitation Center of Excellence trains General Mills teams as well as our suppliers and co-producers,” stated the report. “Sanitation is a key focus area for all stakeholders, so we also share our expertise with customers, regulators, and others in the food industry. Our sanitation efforts extend from proper design and construction of facilities and equipment for promoting through cleaning to the rigorous sanitation processes and validation procedures necessary for ensuring safe food.”

The company’s food safety projects extend back to the 1950s, when General Mills created its raw material vendor management program.