This week the Global Food Safety Initiative’s annual conference met in Atlanta. With more than 800 delegates from 50 countries, this conference brings together food safety experts from around the world. This conference’s theme: Delivering Safe Food in Turbulent Times: The Need for Agility & Resilience centered around how climate change, global political instability, and supply chain disruptions have affected access to safe food.
What is GFSI?
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a collaboration between some of the world's leading food safety experts from industry, academia, and government. The initiative was launched in 2000 to improve food safety worldwide and to create a set of internationally recognized standards for food safety.
These standards cover various aspects of the food supply chain, from primary production to processing, packaging, and distribution, and are based on best practices in food safety management. Where a farmer faced with a plethora of certification programs to choose from (some of which may only partially cover requirements) may not know where to begin, GFSI endorsed certifications are benchmarked to the highest standards and are recognized worldwide. Simply put, the Global Food Safety Initiative sets the standard for standards.
GFSI aims to improve food safety and business efficiency. GFSI’s work in benchmarking and harmonisation fosters mutual acceptance of GFSI-recognised certification programmes across the industry and enables a simplified “once certified, recognized everywhere” approach. This reduces inefficiencies from duplication of audits and helps reduce trade barriers. The GFSI Benchmarking process is now the most-widely recognised in the food industry worldwide.
The Certifications
GFSI is not a food safety certification body, rather they set the standards and benchmarks that other food safety certification programs must meet. Approved certification bodies that meet their benchmarking standards are called Certification Programme Owners (CPOs). CPOs are organized by certification scope, typically by the product type or industry they offer certification for:
Based on the scope of an operation, GFSI provides a list of CPOs that meet the global benchmarking standards. For growers of fruit and vegetables, organizations typically fall under the BI scope, and there are a few options to choose from when selecting a certification:
- BRCGS
- Equitable Food Inititiative (EFI)
- Freshcare
- FSSC 22000
- Global GAP
- Asia GAP
- Canada GAP
- Primus GFS
- SQF Institute
While all these CPOs are certified by the Global Food Safety Initiative, selecting a CPO may depend on the scope of business, the geographical location, or a business’s specific vendor requirements.
Why GFSI Certify?
Manage Risk
A food safety traceability system is crucial in the event of a recall. With a traceability system in place, farmers can quickly and efficiently track and recall any potentially contaminated products, minimizing the risk of a widespread outbreak. A robust traceability system will provide your farm with effective management of food safety. Strong traceability reduces recall reaction time, protecting consumers and your brand.
Expand Market Reach
GFSI certification helps your company stay competitive and can drive internal business performance. It is especially beneficial for food manufacturers in the B2B space, as many companies have stringent vendor requirements, including GFSI certification. Certification yields broader access to markets. Statistics show that approximately 1 out of 4 certified companies are asking their suppliers to achieve certification. Starting on your certification can help you stay competitive and qualified to work with your current customers, as well as gain access to larger global retailers.
Increase Consumer Confidence
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of food safety issues, and they want to know that the food they are eating is safe. By implementing a traceability system, farmers can demonstrate their commitment to food safety and improve consumer confidence in their products.
Enhance Brand Reputation
A strong commitment to food safety can enhance a farmer's brand reputation and differentiate their products in a crowded market. GFSI certification is a recognized symbol of a company's commitment to food safety, which can help build trust with customers, suppliers, and regulators.
As consumers become increasingly aware of food safety issues, implementing a food safety traceability system is critical to meet regulatory requirements, improve supply chain management, and enhance consumer confidence. This year’s GFSI conference topic, Delivering Safe Food in Turbulent Times: The Need for Agility & Resilience is poised to address modern challenges in food safety and traceability that affect access to safe and healthy food around the globe. The importance of food safety in our global supply chain cannot be overstated, and initiatives such as GFSI play a crucial role in ensuring that the food we eat is safe, healthy, and sustainable.
Technology can play a large role in helping producers fulfill requirements without incurring large time and labor costs. Farm management software empowers farmers to efficiently log and store their data and records, and to make use of their data to enhance traceability and improve food safety. Croptracker helps growers simplify record keeping and pass inspections with over 140 reports in the formats auditors need.
Croptracker develops agtech solutions for industry leaders. Located in Eastern Ontario, Canada, our mission is to make crop production safer, more efficient, and more profitable. Designed in partnership with fresh market producers and distributors, every tool we create is based on direct industry feedback.
Interested in learning more about Croptracker? Learn more about our Farm Management Software, or book a demonstration to schedule a meeting with our product experts.
