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PARIS and Washington, DC, USA, 9 September 2022 – The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), The Consumer Goods Forum’s Coalition of Action on food safety, and Equitable Food Initiative, are pleased to announce that Equitable Food Initiative Food Safety Standards, Guidance, & Interpretations Version 2.0 has successfully achieved recognition against GFSI’s Benchmarking Requirements V2020. The recognition encompasses BI – Farming of Plants (other than grains and pulses) and BIII- Pre-process Handling of Plant Products.
Kenton Harmer, EFI Managing Director said “Being benchmarked to GFSI is a tremendous step for our organisation. In addition to the external validation of EFI’s food safety program, the recognition allows our certified fresh produce growers to demonstrate their industry-leading practices as implemented and enforced by an engaged workforce. We benefited greatly from working with GFSI through the benchmarking process, and now produce growers will benefit as well as they begin to streamline necessary audits.”
Lalaina Randriamanantsoa, GFSI Senior Technical Manager said “This was EFI’s first time going through the GFSI Benchmarking process, and the team was eager to monitor the progress and ensure compliance with the GFSI Benchmarking requirements. We are delighted to welcome new Certification Program Owners who have applied for GFSI recognition and demonstrate high intentionality to become GFSI-recognised. The bold goal of “safe food for people everywhere” can only be achieved through collaboration and that level of commitment. Congratulations to the EFI team!”
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About the GFSI Benchmarking Process
Benchmarking is a procedure by which a food safety Certification Program Owner (CPO) is compared to the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements. The process is designed to be executed in an independent, unbiased, technically proficient and transparent manner. A program is ‘recognised’ by GFSI when it has been verified that it meets every single GFSI benchmarking requirement, both in procedures and in operations. An independent benchmark leader, supported by the GFSI Technical Manager, assesses whether the application meets GFSI requirements, followed by a public consultation period that is open to all GFSI Stakeholders. The benchmark leader and GFSI Technical Manager then make a recommendation to the GFSI Steering Committee regarding recognition of the programme. The full process is defined in the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements document.
About the Global Food Safety Initiative
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI; the Coalition) is a CEO-led Coalition of Action from The Consumer Goods Forum, bringing together 42 retailers and manufacturers and an extended food safety community to help oversee food safety standards for businesses and help provide access to safe food for people everywhere. As one of the world’s largest networks to help achieve safe food , GFSI is committed to making food safety everyone’s business and the Coalition members are addressing challenges facing food safety systems in their supply chains and the markets they operate in, and are helping to raise the food safety bar globally. Its ambition is to strengthen and harmonise food safety systems so they are able to feed the growing, global population and develop markets that can deliver food safely, no matter where in the world the consumer is. To learn more, visit www.mygfsi.com
For further information, contact Sarah Menigault, Communications Officer, The Consumer Goods Forum: s.menigault@theconsumergoodsforum.com
About EFI
Equitable Food Initiative is a nonprofit certification and skill-building organisation that seeks to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers through a team-based approach to training and continuous improvement practices. EFI brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to solve the most pressing issues facing the fresh produce industry. Its unparalleled approach sets standards for labour practices, food safety and pest management while engaging workers at all levels on the farm to produce Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured® fruits and vegetables. View a list of EFI-certified farms at equitablefood.org/farms
