As spring begins to give way to summer, I have found myself spending a little extra time on the golf course. And, as with any sport, when you haven’t played at all for an extended period of time (i.e., all winter), it takes a little time and effort to relearn the game.

In both food safety and golf, there is always more to learn. In golf, it can be a shot type, or how to hit a ball out of the sand or rough. In food safety, we are always learning more, each day, week, month and year, about the wide range of food safety risks we face and how we can best avoid or eliminate them.

Another related commonality is the importance of practice. In golf, committed practice is necessary to improve. The same is true for food safety. We practice through mock recalls, developing or receiving food safety training, and going out each day and working to do a better job. Indeed, no matter how much we learn, there is always room for improvement. No matter how good a person may be at golf or food safety, perfection can simply never be achieved. Just as every golfer will at least, occasionally, make a bogie or worse, so too there is always a chance that, despite our best efforts, a food safety failure will occur.

Having the best equipment helps, but it isn’t everything. If we give a bad golfer the best equipment, they will still be a bad golfer. They might hit the ball a little further, and the ball flight might be a little more consistent, but any improvement will be marginal.

In food safety, the best equipment is helpful but, again, it may not always be enough. It can help reduce harborage sites and it can increase the ability and likelihood of detecting foodborne pathogens, but without the fundamentals (knowledgeable people who possess a clear understanding of food safety, and effective policies and procedures, etc.) we will inevitably find ourselves playing poorly.

Whether in food safety or golf, you must navigate a playing field that is full of hazards, both seen and unseen. In golf, those hazards typically involve water or sand. In food safety, they involve pathogens, allergens, foreign materials and a host of other dangers that require constant vigilance to avoid. Thus, when hazards are present, in food safety or in golf, the most important thing is to navigate them skillfully.

Food safety and golf are also about integrity. In golf, each player has a duty to do the right thing, and there is a deeply ingrained culture of following the rules and admitting one’s mistakes, especially when nobody is watching. The same is true for food safety. We are all confronted with situations where it would be easier to cut a corner, disregard a rule, or fail to speak up about something we did. But in both food safety and golf, true success will only be achieved by those who act with integrity. This is because doing the wrong thing, eventually, will catch up with you.

Integrity, honesty, practice, and avoiding hazards are the keys to success in both food safety and golf. So, the next time you’re on the course, or on the production floor, spend some time thinking about how you can sharpen your game.

Food safety and golf

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