Food Manufacturing - July/August 2016

Preparing for a GFSI Certification Audit

By Annette Pendleton, director of food safety and regulatory compliance, WDS Inc., and Tess Burlingame, president, Food Safety Resources LLC

Certifications recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) are virtually a requirement for doing business in the food industry today. Almost every aspect of the food chain now has a specific set of standards that apply. Whether your organization is beginning the certification journey or considering a different certification, these eight steps can help you prepare for becoming GFSI-certified.

What is GFSI Certification?

GFSI is an international collaboration of food industry experts that recognizes several benchmarked food safety standards worldwide. GFSI-recognized standards are a measuring stick for Food Safety Management Systems.

Standards like BRC, FSSC 22000, SQF, IFS, Primus GFS, Global Aquaculture Alliance, Global GAP, Canada GAP and GRMS each hold equal weight under GFSI. Your customers are required to accept any GFSI-recognized standard because they all fall under the GFSI umbrella.

Once you are certified to any of these standards, everyone will know that you have the systems in place to produce a safe, legal and high-quality product.

Step 1: Choose a Standard

Because there are many accepted GFSI standards, you should choose the standard that works best for you, based on the products handled and the processes conducted at your facility (agriculture, food manufacturing, packaging manufacturing or storage and distribution, etc.).

The website myGFSI.com is an excellent resource to help you understand which standards are available based on your product and process. (Note about terminology: What we in the U.S. call a “standard” is referred to on the GFSI website as a “scheme.” Don’t be confused: Standard and scheme are synonyms.)

The GFSI website walks you through the standards and how to choose the right one for you. If you have key customers with a strong preference for one standard, you should still examine the different standards to identify which will work for you. In the end, which standard to apply is a business decision, with a number of factors to consider.

Although the various GFSI standards have differences, they have similar basic requirements:

• Management commitment: Because there are financial and human resources costs to support certification, management commitment is critical.

• Prerequisite programs as the framework to providing a safe and legal product: Although you may already have food safety programs in place, GFSI standards require you to verify and, in some cases, validate that each program is working effectively.

• CODEX-based HACCP plan, HARP-C, Hazard and Risk Analysis or Food Safety Plan: All standards have a section on risk identification and management. Because GFSI-approved standards are globally accepted, the foundation for risk management is the science-based CODEX HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system, focusing on prevention rather than on end-product testing.

• Standards for food safety and legality:
Most also cover quality.

• Systems-based audits: GFSI-based audits look at the entire system, including:

• Process steps

• Inputs (like specifications and customer requirements)

• Outputs (finished products)

• People with competency

• Materials/equipment that are defined and maintained

• Methods (procedures)

• Measurements, such as monitoring,
verification and validation
The full-system aspect of GFSI
certification audits is one of the biggest
differences from typical customer audits
or inspections, which tend to look at a
few specific areas. Another difference is
that the certification auditors are experts
in the industry. They have to qualify to the
categories that they audit. Therefore, expect
an auditor who knows a bit about the
business and who knows the standard.

Step 2: Study the Standard

Once you decide on a standard, purchase a copy via the standard owner’s website and study it carefully.

The keys to knowing your standard are interpretation and intent. If the chosen standard offers a separate interpretational guideline, obtain that too, as it can be helpful to understanding the intent of the standard.

Some standards are prescriptive, explaining exactly what is needed in detail. Some are less specific. Either way, reading the standard can be scary because, chances are, you will see a lot of work to be done and changes to implement before you meet all requirements.