Co-designed in collaboration with food businesses, this comprehensive resource was meticulously developed to promote and reinforce food safety practices within the industry. Distributed to over 20,000 establishments throughout New Zealand, the Toolkit serves as a vital tool for fostering a culture of food safety excellence.
FOOD SAFETY TOOLKIT
PROJECT MISSION
Our goal was to simplify New Zealand's food safety regulations into easily digestible content, aiding managers and staff in comprehending how to maintain food safety standards and the rationale behind them.
PROBLEM TO SOLVE
Following a significant overhaul of food safety laws in 2015 with the introduction of the new Food Act, the Food and Beverage team at the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) recognized the need to support food businesses in navigating these changes.
Targeting "hard to reach" businesses, including those with low literacy levels, non-native English speakers, and minimal food safety expertise, we aimed to alleviate their challenges and concerns.
WHAT WE DID
Discover / Define
We initiated the project with empathy interviews, engaging food business owners to understand their struggles with the updated regulations and the day-to-day challenges faced by them and their staff. Insights revealed time constraints, staff supervision burdens, and diverse learning preferences among workers.
Design Phase
Conducting workshops nationwide, we invited food businesses to co-create solutions. They identified specific rules causing difficulties and proposed methods for training, such as posters, comics, and games. These ideas were refined through collaborative sessions, culminating in a project walk-through event in Wellington, where businesses provided further input.
The final outcome was a co-designed toolkit for food businesses, comprising posters, magnets, stickers, a card game, a magazine, and a whiteboard, tailored to address their needs and preferences.
Delivery Phase
Following rigorous testing and adjustments, the toolkit was finalized and distributed to over 20,000 food businesses across New Zealand. Today, you can spot many of these resources behind café counters, contributing to improved food safety practices nationwide.