Bruno Sechet Integralim

📣You can taste food fraud

A little over 20 years ago, we managed to prevent a fraud regarding butter coming from Italy that had serious consequences for other companies.

It was one of those opportunities, as there still are, that shouldn't be let pass: European butter from Italy from a supplier we didn't know, at a very interesting price.

It turns out that in my company, we tasted every batch of every raw material upon reception before releasing and using it.

And between production and quality, we agreed: that butter had a very strange, metallic taste.

So we rejected it.

A few weeks later, the press reported that the three largest French cheese factories, which we were part of, had bought adulterated butter from Italy. We were the only ones who had rejected it.

It was the scandal of adulterated butter by the mafia, mixed with all kinds of products.It is complicated to detect fraud, but the more you know what you buy, and especially the supplier, without going through intermediaries, the easier it is to have confidence in what you buy.

Since then, buyers learned that behind every opportunity, unknown risks can be hidden. But one must always be alert.

📣 An Iphone saved the day:
The recall protocol in Japan is very detailed: what and where recalls must be published, when and how to inform clients, authorities, and consumers.

I had to go with our importer to explain to the authorities what had happened and what action we were taking.
Without that information and validation by them, it was impossible to sell our products again.
So, 10 very nervous Japanese men and I found ourselves in a meeting.
I was already getting used to that.

We went with a detailed report explaining where the metal shavings found in the products could have come from, what analysis we had done, and what corrective actions, with photos and drawings, we had taken.

But I saw that the authorities didn't quite understand how it could have happened and that everyone was very nervous.

So, it occurred to me to show them, on my iPhone, two videos that the production chief had sent me. They were able to see the machinery operating and the corrections made.

Their eyes lit up and they told me, 'Very good.' In Japanese, of course. I even think one of them smiled.For the authorities, it was important to understand the situation and have confidence in what we were doing.

And clearly, being able to visualize it was best for them. We left that meeting much more relaxed and were able to sell our cheeses again.

Without having to go that far, we must think about how to better transmit information if we want to improve food safety.

And certainly, visual media are very useful and better than pages of instructions, procedures, and reports.

I almost lost my best team member because I forgot two simple words. 🛑

Simone was my rock. She was reliable, efficient, and I trusted her with everything. Because she was so good, I thought she didn't need "extra" attention.

I was wrong.

My lab manager pulled me aside one day and said:
"You should pay a little more attention to her."

I was stunned. "She’s the person I trust the most!"

Then came the question that stopped me in my tracks:
"When was the last time you told her thank you?" 🤐

Silence.

I had fallen into the trap of the "demanding manager."
- Always a "but" after a job well done.
- Always looking for the next thing to improve.
- Never pausing to appreciate the effort.

The next day, I showed up with a huge bag of gummy bears. 🍬
"Each bear is a thank you I forgot to give you."

She smiled. And that is when it clicked for me.

You can be demanding. You can have high standards. But you must never let your drive for excellence mask your gratitude for the people helping you get there.

A simple "thank you" changes the entire energy of a team. ✨

***

Raising the bar on food safety: it is about going beyond the standards for the sake of the consumers. 🍽️✨

This vision is what drove the development of the interactive version of ISO 22000 (Cobaz) in collaboration with the AFNOR Group. Our goal? To make food safety management more accessible and actionable than ever before. 📈

It was a privilege to collaborate with Sandrine ARTAUD-GLEVAREC and Églantine Cérède on this project. Together, we structured the standard into clear, digestible pillars:

🔹 What is ISO 22000?
🔹 Strategic Alignment
🔹 Risk Analysis
🔹 Operational Activities
🔹 Continuous Improvement
🔹 Management System Support
🔹 Certification Process

This interactive tool is available as an add-on when you purchase the ISO 22000 through AFNOR Editions. Please note that it is currently available in the French version. 🇫🇷

Looking ahead, we are already preparing to update the tool for the upcoming ISO 22000: 2026/2027 version! 🚀

Explore the tool here: https://bit.ly/Cobaz

The JRC report came back last week for October and November 2025
🌍 This report provides an overview of food fraud globally

⏩Find the link to download the report here▶https://bit.ly/jrcffeu10-11-25

⏩ Food fraudsters killed 9 people in Honduras and Brazil with adulterated alcohol

⏩ It's always and more about adulterated olive oil , adulterated, counterfeit, smuggled, alcohol, beef vs horse meat, cheese, chicken meat, chocolate, coffee, eggs, fish 🐟, ghee, honey, meat🥩, milk 🥛, oil, peanut, pork meat, rice 🍚 , salami, sugar, supplements, walnut., mineral water

🌍 Fraudsters have been very active across the globe from the Mexico to Argentina, from Portugal to Ukraine, from Morocco to Namibia, from Ukraine to Japan.

🙏 The report is the result of the great work of Arantza Respaldiza PhD Respaldiza PhD, Ramón Martínez Carreras, Lourdes Alvarellos and the JRC teams.

Thank you for your very important monthly work! (European Commission Joint Research Center)
For more updates follow me or look at linktr.ee/bsechet



Selvarani Elahi MBE John Points Quincy Lissaur John G. Keogh Bryan ARMENTROUT John W SPINK Chris Elliott

600 employees in one plant. 🏭

I was just a face in the crowd. Or so I thought.

The Director walked straight toward me. He smiled, shook my hand, and said: "Happy Birthday." 🎂

I was stunned. How could he possibly know?

He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. It was a simple list of employee birthdays, organized day by day. 📄

At first, I was skeptical. I thought it was a tactic: a calculated, manipulative move to win points.

But then I saw my name.

I realized he took 30 seconds out of a grueling schedule to find me. It wasn't an automated HR email. It was human. I felt seen.

That moment changed how I lead. Today, I keep my own list. I never miss a birthday. ✍️

The Lesson:
- Leadership is not about grand speeches or polished presentations.
- It is about the quality of your attention.
- When people feel important, they take pride in their work.
- Quality grows where people feel valued.

If you lead a team, your attention shapes the culture. You don't need a massive budget to make an impact.

Start small. Start today. 🚀
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