Tag Archives: GFSI

FSSC 22000 Version 6 Achieves GFSI Recognition

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FSSC 22000 has completed the Consumer Goods Forum’s GFSI Benchmarking process for Version 6 of the Scheme and achieved recognition against the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements v2020 on 23 August 2024.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), The Consumer Goods Forum’s Coalition of Action on food safety, compared FSSC 22000 Version 6 to the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements for evidence of alignment and verified that Version 6 fully meets the benchmarking standards.

The FSSC 22000 Scheme is owned and governed by the independent non-profit Foundation FSSC and outlines the requirements for the audit and certification of an organization’s Food Safety Management System. Version 6 of the Scheme was published on 31 March 2023 and became mandatory on 1 April 2024. Foundation FSSC developed the Version 6 Scheme update to integrate the latest requirements of ISO 22003-1:2022 and strengthen the framework to better support organizations in aligning their operations with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring the Scheme continues to meet evolving global food safety standards and sustainability objectives.

“We are pleased with the continued GFSI recognition of our updated FSSC 22000 Scheme Version 6. It confirms that we continue to provide trust to the food industry and create impact by contributing to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” said Aldin Hilbrands, CEO of Foundation FSSC. “This has also demonstrated our commitment to food safety excellence through the unique ISO-based management system certification approach adopted by an increasingly growing number of organizations globally.”

Attend the FSSC Insights Event, North America 2024 at the Food Safety Consortium Conference, October 22, 2024, Washington DC, Topics covered include FSSC 22000 Update and Version 6, FSSC 24000 and FSSC in Practice – Transport and Storage; Benefits of Certification and ROI. More Info at https://foodsafetyconsortium.org/ > Agenda > Tuesday 10/22

GFSI, The Consumer Goods Forum

GFSI Steering Committee Sanctions Equitable Food Initiative (EFI)

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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GFSI, The Consumer Goods Forum
The GFSI Steering Committee has suspended recognition of certification programmes owned by the Equitable Food Initiaive until evidence of re-alignment to GFSI Benchmarking requirements v 2020 is provided by the Certification Programme Owner EFI. This suspension took effect on 7th June 2024.
As a reminder, the scope of GFSI recognition applies to the following certification programme owned by Equitable Food Initiative:
Food Safety Standards, Guidance, & Interpretations Version 2.0, November 30th, 2018, specifically against GFSI scopes:
●     BI Farming of Plants (other than grains and pulses)
●     BIII  Pre-process Handling of Plant Products.

As part of the GFSI Governance Rules, EFI has a right to appeal this decision. The decision to suspend EFI will remain in effect unless and until any appeal is successful.

GFSI have prepared a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for all potentially impacted GFSI stakeholders. If you cannot find answers to your specific questions in our FAQ section, please contact gfsibm@theconsumergoodsforum.com

Nicole Keresztes James

Five Tips to Prepare for Your Next Audit

By Nicole Keresztes James
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Nicole Keresztes James

For food manufacturers, passing a third-party food safety and quality audit supports both business growth and the ability to obtain new customers. Many retailers have made certification to a GFSI-benchmarked standard a minimum requirement of their suppliers. Working towards compliance with a third-party audit, let alone a GFSI-benchmarked certification, is a journey that requires significant preparation. Understanding the typical mistakes companies make on this journey, and taking action to avoid them can go a long way in properly preparing for and successfully passing the audit. Here are five essential tips to help businesses prepare for a food safety audit.

1. Start Early

Procrastination is on one of the most common causes of an audit failure. Starting the preparation process too late can cause significant challenges. The first step in preparing for an audit should be to set a timeline well in advance, identifying key checkpoints and milestones to ensure activities meet compliance.

If you have the option, choose an audit standard that fits with the facility and meets the end goal. Some questions to ask in your selection process include:

  • Is the certification to a GFSI-benchmarked standard required?
  • Is a completed third-party food safety and quality audit sufficient?
  • Is a customer-specific audit needed?

Once you’ve decided on the audit standard, select a third-party certification body or audit firm to deliver an audit to the standard’s requirements. Ensuring that the certification body or audit firm you choose is qualified to conduct the audit (e.g., accredited or approved by the standard) is crucial.

Next, secure a copy of the selected standard. With GFSI-aligned programs (including GFSI and non-GFSI benchmarked standards), standard expectations are available freely and directly from the certification program owners. In the case of proprietary third-party audit and customer standards, the chosen certification body or audit firm can assist with providing the necessary expectations.

2. Get Up to Speed

It is extremely important to thoroughly review and familiarize yourself with the standard or expectations manual, especially if the standard or manual is new to the facility. If the audit is a reassessment, ensure you have the most recent version of the standard or manual and thoroughly read it, as updates may have been made since the last audit.

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One mistake we sometimes see is failing to designate an internal core team for the audit. Doing so can help ensure the timeline is followed and critical tasks are assigned accordingly. If you are doing a reassessment, ensure that all internal organizational changes have been documented and that organization charts and rosters have been updated.

For reassessments, it’s also important to revisit any nonconformances from previous audits and the reports of any other assessments or internal audits completed. Doing so ahead of time can confirm that corrective actions have been fully implemented and preventive actions put in place, minimizing the recurrence of nonconformances.

3.Complete a Self-Assessment

Conduct an internal audit using the audit standard or expectations manual to identify compliance gaps. Address any deficiencies through corrective actions, focusing on areas such as sanitation and cleanliness, facility condition, pest management programs and maintenance protocols. Looking at each of these areas, identify and address opportunities for improvement. Issues in these areas are very often cited as nonconformances during audits.

Before the audit, meet with your third-party service providers to ensure programs are up to date and that there is awareness of any issues. Even when programs, such as pest control, are outsourced to third-party organizations, the facility remains responsible for overseeing such programs.

4. Prepare Documentation and Ensure Implementation

Documentation is critical for audit success. Ensure a comprehensive review of your food safety systems (e.g., HACCP and FSMA PC) to ensure that they are current and valid. Review the efficiency of your process implementation and verify that the documentation and processes are aligned.

Training is a must-have for audit compliance; therefore, confirm that internal training has occurred and been documented. This includes training not just for the team escorting the auditor during the audit but for all employees, as during the visit employees in functions key to the audit’s scope may be called on by the auditor to answer questions. Remember, well-trained employees are confident in conducting and describing their processes and how they connect to food safety and quality. They must also follow the procedures as stated in the documented programs and policies.

5. Collaborate and Ask for Help

Failures occur when assumptions are made. Many audits are unsuccessful because facility management and employees assume they understand and have implemented the necessary requirements.

When in doubt, ask for help. As stated above, preparing for any audit is a significant undertaking. Expert resources can help with that preparation and assist with avoiding gaps and the rework that occurs when expectations are not clearly understood. Check with the certification body or audit firm that has scheduled the audit—many will offer separate consulting and training services to help with audit preparation.

It is important to note that one facility is just one point in the overall supply chain and that stakeholders include both suppliers and customers of the facility. These suppliers and customers can play a role in the success of an audit. Ensure that communication with all involved parties is part of the preparation.

Keep the Momentum Going

Once you complete an audit, celebrate and congratulate the team. At the same time, remember that the work doesn’t end once the audit is complete. Even after completing the corrective actions, you should start preparing for the next audit by keeping documents and records updated. Adequate food safety and quality assurance are only possible when activities connected to these concepts are carried out every day. Keeping compliance top-of-mind daily has the additional significant benefit of always being audit-ready.

As the adage says, “Fail to plan, plan to fail.” This certainly rings true with audit readiness. However, it is key to remember that an audit is merely a data point on the spectrum of a robust food safety and quality system that is constantly evolving and improving. This comprehensive system does not come about just because there is an audit to plan for. It is a product of daily work to ensure that procedures and policies are being followed and a cross-functional team that is striving to make a facility’s food safety culture stronger and ever more capable of preventing food safety and quality incidents.

Alfonso Capuchino

GFSI Specialist Capuchino Joins Kiwa-ASI

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Alfonso Capuchino

Alfonso Capuchino, a food industry certification professional with more than 20 years’ experience, is joining the Kiwa Group as Global Technical Director for Food, Feed and Farm, and ASI, a member of the Kiwa Group, as Vice President of Certification. Capuchino specializes in management systems, HACCP, third-party auditing and GFSI certification, and has experience in developing multi-standard services. He is a certified instructor and auditor for GFSI standards in the scope of food handling, packaging, storage and distribution, and brokering.

“Alfonso’s background in GFSI benchmark standards will provide great value in increasing our already strong presence working with standards like BRC, FSSC, SQF, GlobalGAP, PrimusGFS, IFS, etc. We are happy to welcome him to the global team with open arms,” said Richard Stolk, President of the Board of Directors at ASI, and Global Business Sector Director of Food Feed Farm at Kiwa Group.

“We are excited to have Alfonso on board as a part of our growing Kiwa-ASI family. His vast industry knowledge and experience will be crucial as we work to continuously improve and expand our existing certification programs,” said Tyler Williams, CEO of ASI.

For more than 30 years, Capuchino has served multiple industries in various roles, including consulting, auditing and directing teams in quality, food safety, environmental safety, occupational safety and sustainability. He earned an industrial engineering degree from the Technological Institute of Tlalnepantla in Mexico City. Before joining the Kiwa Group, Capuchino was the Vice President of Certification Services at AIB International.

 

 

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Intertek Alchemy Launches Customizable Food Safety Culture Training Program

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Intertek Alchemy Logo

Intertek Alchemy, which offers workforce training solutions, has launched a new online food safety culture training program for food industry leaders to help them build and maintain an informed culture coalition within their organization. The program includes GFSI-based food safety culture instruction, a best practice case study and a food safety culture gauge that provides custom action plans and resources.

The program was developed in partnership with Cultivate SA, a Swiss-based company led by Dr. Lone Jespersen, food safety culture professional and chair of the GFSI Food Safety Culture Working Group.

“Strong food safety cultures are essential to reducing recalls and employee turnover, while maximizing productivity and ensuring compliance,” said Laura Dunn Nelson, Intertek Alchemy vice president of food safety and global alliances. “We are excited to work with Dr. Jespersen and the Cultivate SA team to develop our latest course that will help companies of all sizes efficiently and effectively educate their leadership on creating a collaborative and successful food safety culture, specific to their business.”

The training program is available online via Intertek Alchemy’s Zosi Learning Platform. Individuals or cross-functional teams of any size can take the course, which includes two in-depth learning modules on food safety culture and an industry-specific case study on how it positively impacts a food business.

From there, the program features an interactive food safety culture gauge that assesses the organization’s maturity level in regard to GFSI’s five dimensions of a food safety culture. Based on the organization’s responses, the program provides a customized action plan and set of culture tools leveraging social science principles.

 

ASI Food Safety
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Top Five Questions When Building a Comprehensive Food Safety Plan

By Matt Regusci
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ASI Food Safety

Over the last 20 years, I have helped thousands of companies prepare for food safety audits. You can only imagine the plethora of questions that my team and I are asked by the food companies as they build their food safety programs. Many revolve around the basics of building an initial food safety plan. Here are the top five food safety plan questions I am asked regularly that I will address within this article:

  • What are the foundations of a good food safety plan?
  • Who should be involved in the process of building the food safety plan?
  • Can I convert my HACCP Plan into a food safety plan?
  • Are there resources and tools available to help build my food safety plan?
  • Should I add food safety culture to my food safety plan?

What Are the Foundations of a Good Food Safety Plan?

FDA dictates that a food safety plan is a set of written documents that are based on food safety principles and incorporates:

  • Hazard analysis
  • Preventive controls
  • Supply-chain programs
  • Recall plan
  • Written procedures to be followed for:
    • Monitoring
    • Corrective actions
    • Verification and validation

A food safety plan is developed for every individual facility based on the unique issues at each facility. For example, if a company has multiple processing plants processing the exact same product in multiple areas throughout the country, each facility will need their own unique plan. The reason for that is each facility may have different risks based on process flow layout, equipment used, suppliers and even employee and management cultures.

Each facility will have a separate HACCP plan detailing each chemical, biological and physical risk for the layout of the operation and equipment used. Recall plans will need to be created for each facility’s unique customers. Supplier monitoring will need to be developed for each facility’s unique suppliers.

Who Should be Involved in the Process of Building the Food Safety Plan?

Creating the team to build your food safety plan is one of the most important steps in the process and probably the most overlooked. Most teams I have seen include the QA and/or food safety person, the operations manager and the maintenance manager. This is too limited and often leads to risks being missed and processes that are either too simple or over complicated. A food safety team should have a member from each of the following departments:

  • Food Safety/QA
  • Operations
  • Maintenance
  • Crew or shift lead
  • Executive management (preferably the CEO)
  • Sanitation
  • A line worker or two

Why the CEO, a shift supervisor and line worker(s)? The CEO creates the company culture and should be funneling information down from the top. If the CEO is part of the team, the whole organization will see the importance of the food safety plan.

Line workers and crew leads are on the floor working the processes day in and out. They will be key to implementation of the plan. As processes are created, the line workers and crew chiefs can provide amazing insight on the processes and reporting tools that will be most effective on the floor. Having this information before implementation will save hours of time and minimize the risk of having to alter processes that don’t work in reality.

Can I Convert my HACCP Plan into a Food Safety Plan?

Many companies have a basic HACCP plan for their facilities. Often the question is, “Isn’t my HACCP plan a food safety plan?” The answer is yes and no. Basically, you can have an HACCP plan and not have a food safety plan, but you cannot have a food safety plan without an HACCP plan.

A food safety plan is more encompassing than an HACCP Plan. Looking at your facility floor plan and analyzing chemical, biological and physical risks is a key part of a food safety plan. The food safety plan adds another layer of monitoring for all risks and provides added processes for preventative controls, recalls and supplier monitoring.

Also, companies that have only an HACCP plan often have not been keeping that plan up to date with an all encompassing team described above. Once the new, more robust teams are created and they start building the food safety plan, many find they need to significantly alter their HACCP plans.

Are There Resources and Tools Available To Help Build My Food Safety Plan?

Luckily, we live in a technical world full of inexpensive or free tools. There are many very smart people that have services available to assist in creating a food safety plan as well. Here is a list of some free and low cost solutions:

Free Solutions:

  • The FDA created a free solution, the “FDA Food Safety Plan Builder.” This solution walks you through the process of creating a food safety plan step-by-step.
  • If you need a food safety plan for a specific GFSI Standard, walking through the individual check lists provided by the standards you choose will lead you to the creation of a food safety plan, albeit a very robust one.
  • If you do not need full certification, building a food safety plan based on GFSI Global Markets is a great stepping stone and they have a free toolkit.

Paid Solutions:

  • There are many software tools that you can purchase. The pricing and features will vary based on the company. Google “Food Safety Plan Software” and you will see the many options available.
  • Working with a consultant is a great option if you don’t have the time to learn the process of creating, building and implementing a food safety plan. There are many great and not so great consultants in the industry. If you decide to go this route make sure you interview at least three consultants and ask the following questions:
    • “Are you going to coach us on how to own and maintain our food safety program or do you do everything on your own?” Many consultants think they “own” the programs they develop, as if they are proprietary systems. Some will charge you year after year to use their program. Avoid these consultants.
    • “How long have you been consulting?”
    • “May I talk with a couple of your past clients?” If they are unwilling to provide testimonials that may be a red flag.

Should I Add Food Safety Culture to My Food Safety Plan?

Recently, I wrote an article for FoodSafetyTech.com titled “The Costs Of Food Safety: Correction vs. Prevention,” and the opening sentence is “Every company that grows, produces, packs, processes, distributes and serves food has a food safety culture. In the food industry, when looking at food safety culture there are essentially two groups: The correction and the prevention groups.”

By starting the process of creating a food safety plan, you are already crossing the chasm into the “prevention group.” Adding elements of food safety employee training, recognition and food safety behavior management into your food safety plan and implementing those elements will alter your organization in some of the most positive ways.

Every food company has a food safety culture, some are toxic and others are refreshingly positive. If you have read this article to the end I assume you either have a positive food safety culture or would like to create one. Incorporating key teams members in your planning and taking advantage of the resources available will place you on the path to developing an effective food safety plan and a company culture that embraces food safety.

Fraud
Food Fraud Quick Bites

GFSI to Share Comments on New Codex Guidance on Food Fraud

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Fraud

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is participating with the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) to support the development of its new guidance on food fraud.
GFSI has been a longstanding partner of Codex and appears in the first draft guidelines of the Codex Guidance on Food Fraud as a key reference for its work on food fraud via its food fraud position.

GFSI notes that while there is some existing guidance that addresses fraudulent activities, there is a significant need for CCFICS, which deals with ‘horizontal’ issues, to develop definitions and update its guidance to better reflect current food fraud initiatives.

To support this work, Codex has created a dedicated working group, Chaired by the United States with co-chairs from China, the European Union, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Kingdom. GFSI acts as an official observer to Codex, providing input and recommendations on this work through its GFSI Codex Working Group. The group, which currently consists of representatives from Nestlé, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company and Danone, plays a key role in underpinning GFSI’s Benchmarking Requirements and reinforcing Codex’s mandate of valuing collaboration, inclusiveness, consensus building and transparency.

The group is also observing to help ensure this work does not reinvent the wheel, but identifies, collects and utilizes existing work from experts within the scientific and academic industries and regulatory community that have been working on this topic for the past decade.

In regard to the feedback provided on the Codex Guidance on Food Fraud, the GFSI Codex Working Group stressed:

  • The importance of including industry as a key partner in managing food fraud
  • The need for clarity around the roles of respective Codex committees in the prevention and detection of food fraud, specifically around analytical and testing guidance to prioritize the detection of food fraud (i.e. the role of CCMAS – Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling vs. the role of CCFICS in food fraud)
  • The importance of collaboration between all relevant stakeholders to manage food safety risks in the event of genuine food fraud incidents
  • The absolute need to include ‘feed for food producing animals’ in the scope of this work
  • The view that existing food safety processes and networks provide a good basis for managing communication of food fraud incidents and share good practices
  • To define numerous terms that are also being proposed, defined and considered with the development of agreed terms and conditions.

Codex is hoping to finish this work in 2024/2025. Between now and the last final draft, which is planned to be submitted for final approval to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, there will be multiple draft versions developed.

GFSI, The Consumer Goods Forum

GFSI Conference Unites More than 600 Food Safety Professionals

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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GFSI, The Consumer Goods Forum

This year’s annual GFSI conference took place in person (in Barcelona), for the first time in two years. The event, which focused on the theme of sustainability, welcomed more than 600 food safety professionals and stakeholders.

“I still can’t quite get my head around the fact that after a life-changing pandemic, GFSI has managed to bring us together for a face-to-face, handshake-to-handshake, smile-behind-the-mask, non-Zoom event,” said The Consumer Goods Forum’s GFSI Director Erica Sheward during her opening speech.

During day one of the event, stakeholders discussed the responsibility of the food industry to help people who are affected by humanitarian crises, more effective food safety capability building to address supply chain challenges, and GFSI’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (no poverty, zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, and responsible consumption and production). The conversation around food safety capability building also delved into challenges for emerging markets as well as small-to-medium sized organizations in developing economies that want to join the global market.

Day two addressed GFSI’s strategic priorities, including the organization’s Benchmarking Requirements for Professional Recognition Bodies. Experts also talked about data sharing between public and private sectors, and the importance of technology to enhance company operations—not replace humans and their expertise.

The final day of the GFSI conference featured discussions around how to reach sustainability goals and the involvement of food safety regulations and other legislative components, as well as the need for sustainability initiatives to be accessible and affordable in order to have a global impact.

GFSI compiled a full review of the event in its Executive Summary, which is available on the organization’s website.

GFSI, The Consumer Goods Forum

GFSI Conference Returns In-Person, in Barcelona

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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GFSI, The Consumer Goods Forum

Returning for its first in-person conference in two years, the GFSI Conference kicks off March 29 in Barcelona with key insights from the world’s largest multinational food organizations. GFSI leadership will discuss its current agenda within the scope of global food supply chain challenges, as well as the connection between food safety and sustainability. During the event, subject matter experts will participate in panel discussions that address recall readiness, audits, building capabilities, multi-stakeholder efforts in the public and private sectors, trust and transparency, innovation across the food safety ecosystem, sustainability and GFSI’s strategic priorities.

The full program, along with registration, speaker and partnership information, is available on GFSI’s website.

Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series

2021 FSC Episode 4 Preview: Food Safety Supply Chain Management

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series

This week’s episode of the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series will discuss the challenges that the industry faces in managing the supply chain, including in the realm of audits. The following is the agenda for this Thursday’s session:

  • Food Safety as a Supply Chain Management Problem, with John Spink, Ph.D., Michigan State University
  • Supplier Certification in Today’s Supplier Quality Management Programs: A Discussion with Gary van Breda, McDonald’s; Jorge Hernandez, Wendy’s; and moderated by Kari Hensien, RizePoint; Sponsored by RizePoint
  • What Needs to Change in Food Safety Certification: A GFSI Panel Discussion moderated by Erica Sheward, GFSI
  • Auditing Update in the Age of COVID: FDA Standards and Regulations Alignment Pilot, with Trish Wester, AFSAP

This year’s event occurs as a Spring program and a Fall program. Haven’t registered? Follow this link to the 2021 Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series, which provides access to all the episodes featuring critical industry insights from leading subject matter experts! Registration includes access to both the Spring and the Fall events. We look forward to your joining us virtually.