Amidst all the continuing buzz about regulations and legislation facing the food industry, I was intrigued by a presentation at the recent Scottish Grocers' Federation Conference in Glasgow by Bubbly Sandhu from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).
The OPSS isn’t an organisation you hear much about, but their mission is pretty vital: to “protect people and places from product-related harm, ensuring consumers and businesses can buy and sell products with confidence”. Admirable, eh? And the rules they enforce are legally required for retailers to follow.
Some in the audience weren’t fully aware of the OPSS's role - or possibly the full extent of their own legal responsibilities and the potential penalties. This led to a bold question from the floor: "How many businesses have you prosecuted?" Bubbly's answer? None. Zero. Not a single one. She explained that while the OPSS has the power to prosecute, their focus is on helping businesses comply with regulations, preferring to guide them rather than punish them.
At first, this approach might seem unusual, even lenient. But it reminded me of something Rory Sutherland once pointed out in an old TED Talk video. He explained about those speed sensors on roads that flash a smiley or frowny face based on your speed. Oddly enough, they're actually more effective at reducing accidents than the enforcement cameras that slap you with fines. Why? Because they engage you with a nudge rather than a threat, a reminder instead of a reprimand. A prompt rather than a ‘gotcha’.
The OPSS approach seems essentially the same: pragmatism over punishment. Education over enforcement. And when it comes to building safer, more compliant industries, isn’t that the road ahead we’d all prefer to travel on?
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