The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a concept introduced by the Consumers Goods Forum back in the year 2000. GFSI was a response to serious concerns about food safety and food safety issues that couldn’t be solved by a single country or a company. Some of those issues impacted regions of the world and even caused global issues. Great example here could be “mad cows’ disease” that was a worldwide spread issue for a couple of decades. The mission of GFSI is “Provide continuous improvement in food safety management systems to ensure confidence in the delivery of safe food to consumers worldwide”. Their vision is safe food for people everywhere.
The Consumers Goods Forum started collaboration platform to describe an effective food safety system that would be recognized internationally. In the first GFSI guideline document the Consumers Goods Forum presented the elements that an adequate food safety system must have.
GFSI guideline requires that a food safety system is based on HACCP plan and HACCP principles as designated by Codex Alimentarius Commission. This mandates 12 steps of HACCP plan including 5 preliminary steps and 7 HACCP principles. HACCP plans must be supported by a strong base of pre-requisite programs that are site specific and account for facility’s related conditions. The GFSI concept requires enhanced Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) aligned with best industry practices. GMP standards were outlined not only for personnel but also buildings, structures, external grounds, maintenance, pest control, cleaning and sanitation, high risk processes and finally foreign material controls.
The GFSI concept requires additional elements to food safety fundamentals and the GMPs such as verification and validation of critical elements of the food safety system, internal audits and period system reviews and reassessments. All elements are intertwined and work together to ensure systematic functionality of the program.
GFSI updates their guideline document periodically with the latest revision released in December of 2024. This is another revision to the previous version of the standard from 2020. The key changes to the 2024 guideline document include the following:
- Alignment with the latest Codex Alimentarius commission guidelines in GMP and system fundamentals area.
- Enhanced focus on Food Safety Culture within Food Safety Management System.
- Strengthening of allergen management through systematic validation.
- Clarification of multi-site certification processes.
- Improving Data Management and Transparency.
Currently recognized certification schemes must apply for recognition against the new requirements by September 5, 2025. Those of you certified with SQF, BRC, FSSC, Primus or under any other GFSI benchmarked program may expect the new versions of the code to be available in early 2026.
Global Food Safety Initiative audits continue to be the highest level of a 3rd party food safety audit a food business can get. Having GFSI certification is a clear statement of enhanced food safety system and best industry practices. Very often GFSI audit certifications are a must for a food business to sell their products through major retailers. Keeping your food safety system in line with the newest GFSI guidelines is crucial to show continuous improvement and account for the latest developments and modern approach in food safety management.
The new audit code will likely require you to conduct a thorough review and reassessment of your GFSI based Program. It will be also a great opportunity to ensure proper implementation and to conduct additional training for key personnel involved in food safety tasks.
Our team of consultants and lead instructors is available to assist those of you that might need additional resources to keep up with the change. Our training Programs account for elements included in GFSI standards. Feel free to reach out to see how BD Food Safety Consultants LLC can benefit your business. Email us at training@bdfoodsafety.com or call 815-641-6404.