<p>By Ashley Eisenbeiser, Vice President, Food and Product Safety Programs, FMI</p><p><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/fmi-innovation-award—new-logo-graphic.tmb-large-350-.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=ebc5868_2" style="margin-bottom:10px;float:right;" alt="FMI Innovation Award – New logo graphic" sf-size="1015247" />What if food safety became a celebrated part of company culture and every employee, from the top down, was equally accountable for food safety? What if there were tools that monitored food safety systems and issued real-time warnings when an incident may occur? What if food safety training were fun and engaging? What if food safety professionals were seen as heroes and influencers in their industries?</p><p>These "what ifs" not only push the boundaries of what’s possible for food safety but are the kinds of questions past recipients of the FMI Food Safety Innovation Award have asked and answered. As the 2025 nomination period opens, it’s time to ask: Who’s asking bold questions today? Who’s paving the way for a safer food supply?</p><p>FMI is seeking nominations by <strong>May 23, 2025</strong>, for the annual Food Safety Innovation Award. The award honors a company, organization or regulatory agency that is advancing food protection through ingenuity, leadership and impact. It recognizes meaningful, creative solutions in the food safety space and aims to elevate the work of those who inspire progress across the industry.</p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/get-involved/awards/#foodsafety">Past winners</a> show just how innovations contribute to the advancement of food safety.</p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2022/02/25/employee-empowerment-and-continuous-improvement-drive-whole-foods-market-s-food-safety-culture">Whole Foods Market,</a> the 2022 award recipient, didn’t introduce a new gadget or testing technology. Instead, they put the power of food safety in the hands of their people, focusing on employee empowerment and continuous improvement to strengthen their food safety culture from the inside out.</p><p>In 2023, <a href="https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2023/01/26/looking-toward-the-future-with-food-safety-innovation">Walmart</a> was honored for deploying a predictive analytics and monitoring tool which integrated data from the business − beyond the traditional food safety parameters − to include data from merchandising, central operations, logistics, facilities maintenance, finance and human resources. This offered a more holistic view of the state of their food safety program that provided real-time alerts when a food safety incident was more likely to occur.</p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2024/05/06/celebrating-excellence–pepsico-receives-fmi-s-2024-food-safety-innovation-award">PepsiCo</a>, a past winner, used animation and behavioral science to spark a global cultural shift, engaging teams through its #BeTheHero campaign and creating food safety mascots that made critical practices relatable across 200 facilities and 12 languages.</p><p>Innovation isn’t limited to technology or scale. It lives in new ideas, fresh thinking and smart execution − whether at a large multinational company, single store operator, national distributor or a local regulatory agency.</p><p>So, who do you know that’s changing the game and leading the way in food safety?</p><p>The nomination process is simple. Food companies that are FMI members as well as regulatory agencies (membership not required) who demonstrate a strong commitment to food protection are eligible.</p><p><strong>Nominate by May 23, 2025.</strong> The winner will be announced in June 2025. Help us celebrate the work that keeps our food system safer for everyone.<span style="background-color:transparent;color:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;word-spacing:normal;caret-color:auto;white-space:inherit;"></span></p><p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/docs/default-source/food-safety/2025-fmi-food-safety-innovation-award.pdf?sfvrsn=b36ad691_3" class="button">Learn More and Submit Your Nomination</a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:inherit;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;word-spacing:normal;caret-color:auto;white-space:inherit;"></span></p>
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