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The city of Dublin played host to an energising gathering of the GFSI Steering Committee (29-31 March 2025). The meeting was a powerful demonstration of the dedication of GFSI’s food industry leaders and team to reinforcing the foundations of global food safety.
Aligning on the Future of Food Safety Assurance
The meeting kicked off with an intensive Strategic Review of GFSI. This wasn’t simply a look back; it was a dynamic workshop where the Committee collectively reaffirmed and sharpened commitment to GFSI’s core mission: to be the driving force behind harmonised standards and robust third-party certification programmes.
The Committee agreed on ensuring GFSI’s efforts are laser-focused on building an even more trustworthy food safety ecosystem through benchmarking requirements.
Measuring the Progress Made: GFSI’s Strategic Priorities
GFSI’s ambitious programme for transformational change, the Race to the Top (RTTT) framework, continues to be a central engine for progress. The Steering Committee placed a strong emphasis on the significant advancements of key RTTT features, notably Feature 2 – CPO Oversight, recognising that further strengthening audit integrity is a key priority for maintaining trust in the food supply ecosystem.
The discussions were strongly geared towards transparency and the overall confidence in GFSI-recognised certification and audit outcomes. This focus is underpinned by GFSI’s commitment to its core purpose as a governing organisation responsible for defining the ‘what’ – not the ‘how’ – of food safety. This ensures that GFSI’s efforts are strategically directed at actions that strengthen the foundations of a trustworthy global food safety ecosystem.
Strengthening Mutual Trust with Certification Programme Owners (CPOs)
A key theme resonating throughout the meeting was the vital importance of stronger, more collaborative relationships with GFSI-recognised Certification Programme Owners (CPOs). Updates on the new CPO Engagement Forum showcased the remarkable progress in fostering open dialogue and tackling important considerations around benchmarking requirements, auditor training, and the benchmarking process itself.
The fact that all GFSI-recognised CPOs have joined the Forum sends a powerful signal of unity and shared purpose. This is a significant achievement in building mutual trust.
From Vision to Action: Progress Across GFSI’s Strategic Initiatives
The Steering Committee dedicated significant energy to propelling forward several crucial initiatives, each designed to strengthen the global food safety net:
Benchmarking Requirements 2024 (BMRs v2024): The 2024 revision of BMRs was published in December 2024. Discussions regarding the rollout of CPO applications highlighted the necessity for clearer communication on the timelines for the recognition process and the expectations of CPOs during the transition.
The GFSI team drew attention to the manner in which new BMRs are developed, listing Codex updates, industry best practices and business facilitation considerations as the three drivers of a new version.
The Steering Committee agreed that developing a clear schedule on future updates with the aim to synchronise the cycle of benchmarking with major Codex updates and communicating it to the concerned stakeholders would go a long way towards improving their capacity to transition to updated requirements.
Authentication and Repository of Certificates (ARC): The development of ARC, the cutting-edge cloud-based platform for certificate authentication, is making significant strides. Introduced in 2020, the concept of an online registry of certificates answers a request from our members and presents several benefits for the entire food safety ecosystem, among which:
- Authentication: Building trust in 3rd-party certification
- Transparency: Delivery of an open and free to access online registry of all certificates issued against a GFSI-recognised programme
- Centralisation: Users will be able to verify whether a site has a GFSI-recognised certificate.
The selection of a vendor is underway, with an anticipated launch in 2026, initially prioritising the critical aspect of verifying certificate authenticity to combat fraudulent activities. This will be a game-changer in ensuring trust in certifications.
Auditor Training and Professional Development (ATPD) Framework: The team provided an update on the evolution of the ATPD framework, a visionary initiative that was born out of the recognition of two main issues: a paucity of food safety auditors and inconsistent quality among existing auditors. The goal is to make food safety auditing a more attractive career option and to ensure a consistent baseline of competence. A key aspect the ATPD aims to address is the notion that having a food science degree is not the only path to becoming an auditor. The framework acknowledges that there are other valid paths to demonstrate competence, such as relevant experience and cumulative training.
Government-to-Business (G2B) Forum: The Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) Subcommittee outlined it ambitious work plan for 2025 and highlighted the exciting new format for the G2B Forum scheduled on the final day of the GFSI Conference. This reflects GFSI’s proactive approach to fostering stronger ties with regulatory bodies and exploring how GFSI-recognised certification can play a pivotal role in national food control systems. This implies that regulatory bodies could potentially use the information and assurance provided by GFSI-recognised certifications to better target their resources and efforts towards higher-risk areas or operators. Dive deeper; read the G2B Forum meeting update.
Technical Subcommittee: The Steering Committee acknowledged its crucial role in safeguarding the integrity of the GFSI benchmarking requirements and guiding key technical decisions. In particular, the Subcommittee is the decision-maker regarding the potential sanctioning of GFSI-recognised Certification Programme Owners (CPOs). The Technical Subcommittee also provides guidance to all GFSI Working Groups, particularly the Benchmarking and Harmonisation Working Group (BHWG), and oversees the Science and Technology Advisory Group (STAG). Key areas of focus in the Subcommittee’s 2025 work plan include addressing challenges remaining from previous Benchmarking Requirements versions, synchronising the benchmarking cycle with Codex, and accreditation.
Capability Building Subcommittee: This committee remains an important strand in GFSI’s overall strategy and, due to changes in planned partnerships, is reassessing best areas to refocus.
Local Groups: The invaluable role that GFSI local groups play in tailoring GFSI’s global strategy to regional contexts and providing crucial local feedback was highlighted. These groups are instrumental in disseminating information, providing input in consultations, and supporting specific initiatives like the Global Markets program.
he Steering Committee explored strategies to enhance engagement and provide better direction for the local groups, highlighting the potential for these groups to act as vital messengers for GFSI’s key messages to regional CEOs, governments, and other stakeholders. The path forward includes prioritising GFSI’s core workstreams and subsequently defining how the local groups can align and support these priorities, ensuring they have clear objectives and receive the necessary backing.
Governance Committee: The meeting dedicated significant time to the work of the Governance Committee, highlighting its fundamental role in establishing and maintaining the rules and structure that underpin GFSI operations. Key discussions within the Governance Committee section revolved around refining structures and processes.
Agreements were reached to streamline internal procedures and to ensure adequate representation on the Steering Committee. Looking ahead, the Governance Committee’s priorities include improving the monitoring of internal processes and developing key performance metrics to enhance efficiency
Sharpened Purpose, Shared Momentum
More than just a series of discussions, the Dublin Steering Committee meeting was a powerful demonstration of the collective passion and unwavering commitment of GFSI to elevating global food safety standards.
GFSI comes away energised by the outcomes of this productive meeting and looks forward with great anticipation to continuing this essential work.
We invite all stakeholders to stay engaged and look out for further updates on these exciting initiatives as we collectively strive towards our shared vision of safe food for people everywhere.
