Achieving Global Certification In Food Safety & Quality

Even more than product and consumer safety, manufacturers’ primary concerns are productivity, performance and profitability – all driven by consumer demand and product appeal. In a competitive world market, producers at every point in the supply chain are watching margins, while seeking new strategies to protect market share. This process is made yet more difficult by the advent of tough new legislation from major markets such as the USA and China, where laws aim to reassure customers of proper product quality.

As well as general food safety, other industry issues are gaining importance, such as healthy or organic/biologically-grown foods and animal welfare. These matters are, increasingly, being addressed by certification procedures – often to a globally-accepted food standard, which helps to ensure that consumers receive products of sufficient quality and integrity. In addition, the broader adoption of global food standards means that retailers and manufacturers are more likely to buy from certified suppliers and sub-suppliers.

That’s why there is so much current work taking place to ensure uniform conformity among standards, and manufacturers are receiving help to decide which standards are right for them. This work is mainly driven by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), a retailer / manufacturer non-profit foundation.

This White Paper discusses four of the most frequently used standards, comparing them with each other, and highlighting matters that producers may want to consider when deciding which standards to adopt. Finally, this paper considers current food safety and quality trends, such as the need for manufacturers and suppliers to take a more active role in certification, in order to ensure future profitability.