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The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Steering Committee recently met in Washington, D.C. The three-day discussions focused on GFSI’s core principles: ensuring transparency and delivering tangible solutions to long-standing challenges in food safety assurance.
GFSI Prioritises Core Governance and Oversight
The Steering Committee conducted a comprehensive review of GFSI’s strategic priorities, originally driven by four “Race to the Top” initiatives: Capability Building, Stakeholder Engagement, Auditor Training and Professional Development, and the online repository of certificates (ARC).
To ensure maximum impact and system integrity, the Steering Committee has decided to prioritise two essential strategic pillars:
- Stakeholder Engagement: Working to facilitate applications for benchmarking against the revised Benchmarking Requirements (BMRs) v2024.
- Registered Certificate Registry: Accelerating the development and delivery of a long-awaited digital solution to facilitate the accessibility/transparency of certificates against GFSI-recognised schemes.
Consequently, the Capability Building Framework and the Auditor Training and Professional Development workstreams have been temporarily paused to free up resources for core activities.
Strengthening Governance and CPO Engagement
Since the Dublin Conference in April 2025, GFSI has listened intently and has actively addressed stakeholder feedback. The Committee reported significant success in building a greater level of trust with CPOs through several dedicated Stakeholder Forum meetings. Two key decisions were formally adopted as a result:
Extension of the application period for GFSI recognition
- CPOs that are recognised against v2020.1 of the Benchmarking Requirements now have from 17/11/2025 until 17/05/2026 midnight CET to apply for recognition against the Benchmarking Requirements v2024.
- CPOs who are not currently recognised may apply at any time moving forward.
- GFSI will reach out to stakeholders from currently acknowledged public voluntary standards to talk about next steps.
Implementation Handbook
To address stakeholder concerns, the Implementation Handbook—a document previously causing contention regarding BMR interpretation—has been put on hold for comprehensive review by the Benchmarking and Harmonisation Working Group.
GFSI Expectations
Technical Clarification Note (TAN)
The Steering Committee agreed to the creation of a Technical Advisory Note (TAN), a tool designed to provide timely clarity on specific technical or governance issues without requiring a full Benchmarking Requirements (BMRs) revision.
The TAN is intended to clarify GFSI’s expectations and respond quickly to emerging stakeholder concerns. It does not, however, carry the same authority as the BMRs.
The TAN dated 10/11/2025 communicates key updates related to auditor competency and a clarified definition for reportable incidents.
Engaging the Community: The 2026 Conference
GFSI’s 25th Conference will be held in Vancouver, Canada, from March 24 to 26, 2026.
Recognising the challenges faced by food safety professionals, the Committee requested the inclusion of high-level topics, such as how best to engage boards on food safety. The Committee demonstrated a strong appetite for exploring more interactive formats, including sections around workshops where Steering Committee members can dialogue directly with key stakeholders on critical topics.
The overall aim is to make future GFSI events more practical, engaging, and focused on providing tangible solutions for the food industry.
