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Cathy

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Posted 26 December 2009 - 04:50 PM

Could some of you share with me which retailers are requiring GFSI certification? In the U.S., it includes Wal-Mart, Price Chopper, CVS stores, and others. I think Tesco requires it - correct? Others?


Cathy Crawford, HACCP Consulting Group
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Simon

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Posted 27 December 2009 - 04:18 PM

Could some of you share with me which retailers are requiring GFSI certification? In the U.S., it includes Wal-Mart, Price Chopper, CVS stores, and others. I think Tesco requires it - correct? Others?

Hi Cathy,

There are a large and ever growing number of GFSI supporters. Take a look at this GFSI Presentation from December 2009.

You may also want to take a look at this: Study: Retailers to Make GFSI Standards Mandatory for Store Brand Suppliers

Regards,
Simon

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Cathy

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Posted 27 December 2009 - 04:38 PM

Thank you - that was helpful.


Cathy Crawford, HACCP Consulting Group
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tsmith7858

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Posted 28 December 2009 - 02:37 PM

We recently had a customer ask which GFSI standard we were working on obtaining. They were asking their suppliers because they wanted to determine which one they were going to mandate.

Kind of defeats the purpose of benchmarked standards...

Target is also backing GFSI and set a June 2010 "deadline" for its supplier (and hence its suppliers, suppliers).



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Posted 28 December 2009 - 07:02 PM

Dear Simon,

Fascinating links indeed. :clap:

To re-iterate the articles ending comments -

• Of the four accepted GFSI certification schemes 74 percent of respondents said they plan to accept Safe Quality Food (SQF); 61 percent British Retail Consortium (BRC); 48 percent the International Food Standard (IFS); and 45 percent Dutch HACCP. Multiple responses were accepted for this question. One retailer respondent wrote: “We will allow both SQF, and BRC. We are looking to move any vendor away from the Dutch HACCP component.”


A ringing vote of confidence in the GFSI scheme. ;) Shame that the governing logic for the different choices was not included, eg any geograhical correlations ??.

I take this to mean that there is disagreement over the GFSI's interpretation / application of "benchmarks". More information needed.

I also noticed in the rather 'cosy' text of the first link that no mention anywhere of "due diligence" as far as I cud see.

Additionally, as far as I understand, many (most?) of the big boys are rigorously maintaining their requirement that suppliers comply with their own (audited) individual systems on top of anything "GFSI".??

Rgds / Charles.C

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Simon

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Posted 29 December 2009 - 04:39 PM

Dear Simon,

Fascinating links indeed. :clap:

To re-iterate the articles ending comments -

A ringing vote of confidence in the GFSI scheme. ;) Shame that the governing logic for the different choices was not included, eg any geograhical correlations ??.

I take this to mean that there is disagreement over the GFSI's interpretation / application of "benchmarks". More information needed.

I also noticed in the rather 'cosy' text of the first link that no mention anywhere of "due diligence" as far as I cud see.

Additionally, as far as I understand, many (most?) of the big boys are rigorously maintaining their requirement that suppliers comply with their own (audited) individual systems on top of anything "GFSI".??

Rgds / Charles.C

Hi Charles,

It is definitely the way forward and there is a big GFSI conference in Washington USA in February. All of the big retailers and food producers are jumping on board. I think we’ll probably end up with BRC, SQF, IFS and ISO 22k in some guise. And yes some for now will still choose to write their own standards and carry out their own audits. i.e. Tesco and M & S.

Regards,
Simon

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Cathy

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Posted 30 December 2009 - 01:04 AM

Anyone planning to attend the GFSI Conference? I'll be there - let me know!

As for companies auditing despite GFSI compliance - yes - this is happening and I think it will continue a year or two until GFSI audits prove their worth. If a retailer does their own audit and finds problems with a supplier despite GFSI certification, they should report what they found to the company and the certification body. The whole GFSI scheme won't work unless all corrective actions are pushed back into the system where they need to be. Without that - this may just be a trend that will last only until the next big outbreak or recall.


Cathy Crawford, HACCP Consulting Group
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Posted 30 December 2009 - 01:55 AM

Dear Cathy,

Is there actually such an entity as a "GFSI audit" in USA. I imagine BRC etc wud not promote this creature. :smile:

I suspect the problem for many of the largest retail companies is that the GFSI benchmarks are way below the detail of inspection which they require. The reasons are likely to be complex, eg local requirements, specific experiences, etc. Anyone who has (suffered?) experienced audits as per the requirements of jumbo final users in EC will I'm sure know this well. Another dimension is often involved.

Rgds / Happy NY / Charles.C


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Charles.C


Simon

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Posted 01 January 2010 - 11:23 AM

Anyone planning to attend the GFSI Conference? I'll be there - let me know!

As for companies auditing despite GFSI compliance - yes - this is happening and I think it will continue a year or two until GFSI audits prove their worth. If a retailer does their own audit and finds problems with a supplier despite GFSI certification, they should report what they found to the company and the certification body. The whole GFSI scheme won't work unless all corrective actions are pushed back into the system where they need to be. Without that - this may just be a trend that will last only until the next big outbreak or recall.

Totally agree Cathy. Over the past ten years or so step after step has been made towards a unified and trusted audit protocol. To its credit GFSI has continued the journey and it has great support. Let's hope this opportunity is not missed. I agree with you a robust feedback and Continual Improvement system is essential.

It should be an interesting year watching developments. Unfortunately I will not be able to make it to Washington, but it would be great if you could give use the latest news Cathy.

Regards,
Simon

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Cathy

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Posted 05 January 2010 - 01:24 AM

No - there are no "GFSI"audits per se. A GFSI audit would be any audit from a GFSI benchmarked standard.


Cathy Crawford, HACCP Consulting Group
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Posted 06 January 2010 - 04:36 PM

The National Confectioners Association in the US is holding a webinar on third party audits which includes a review of GFSI (http://www.candyusa....ItemNumber=2008)

You may need to be a member to join. I will share any information that I can after I go through it.

TS



Understanding Third Party Food Safety Audits

Webinar — Technical Education
January 26 - 27, 2010





"Decision Based Criteria for your Third Party Food Safety Audit"
Presented By Debby NewslowPosted Image
President, D L Newslow & Associates, Inc.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
12:00 -1:00 PM (Part One)


  • Welcome and Course Introduction
  • Management System Evolution in the Food Industry
  • An Introduction to Food Safety Management Standards (FSMS)
    • GFSI, BRC, Dutch HACCP, IFS, SQF, FSSC 22000
    • Prerequisite Requirements (Foundation to your Food Safety Program)
    • PAS 220/ISO 22000 = FSSC 22000
  • What are the basic requirements?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
12:00 - 1:00 PM (Part Two)

  • Brief Review from Part One
  • Choosing the third party audit supplier: what to consider?
  • The small company - how to build a system with confidence?
  • Pitfalls of the Third Party Audit
    • How have "food safety" disasters made it past auditors?
    • How is the process being improved?
  • Third Party Audits - Beyond HACCP
  • Conclusion: Developing the Foundation for an Effective Food Safety System
  • Questions and Answers
Cost: $90/series


Simon

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Posted 07 January 2010 - 03:56 PM

Thanks for the 'heads up' TS. It would be great if you could revert with a summary.

Cheers,
Simon


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Posted 01 February 2010 - 06:31 PM

Thanks for the 'heads up' TS. It would be great if you could revert with a summary.
Cheers,
Simon


My summary of the NCA Webinar on 3rd party auditing (focus on GFSI):

The webinar was nicely prepared and covered most of the basics of 3rd party auditing focusing on GFSI standards. It included a brief history of the GFSI committee and why it was benchmarking standards (to consolidate and reduce the need for repetitive auditing). There were some interesting stats given from an ASQ article, but article name was not given.

  • Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults feel the U.S. food recall process is only fair or poor.
  • Seventy-three percent of adults say they are equally concerned about food safety as the war on terror.
  • Eighty-two percent of adults believe that the food industry should be required to follow international standards on food safety.
  • Less than half (48%) said that they actually trust the government’s ability to ensure the safety of food products.
  • Only half believe the federal government does a good job enforcing laws that ensure our nation’s food supply is safe.
  • Ninety-three percent of adults are aware of instances of food recalls due to health and safety concerns in the last three years.
  • This is up from a 2007 Harris Poll, showing 79% were aware of food recall occurrences in the last three years.
  • Food recalls have become even more of a serious concern for adults (47%) versus the 2007 Harris Poll data (29%).
  • A total of 92% of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about recalls.
  • When recalls on brands adults usually purchase do occur, 47% would temporarily purchase another brand and then purchase the recalled brand once it was safe.
  • Twenty-seven percent of adults would avoid using any brand made by the manufacturer of a recalled product. This is up from 21% in 2007
The presenter felt that the GFSI standards were the future and listed Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Wegmans, and Publix as examples of companies asking for GFSI standards. (I also know that Target should be on the list.)

The presenter felt that FSSC would come out as the strongest in the future (presenter had a strong ISO background so their may be some prejudice) but that BRC and SQF were equally strong. Currently in the US, SQF seems to have the strongest support but FSSC is just getting started.

The presenter indicated the similarities between the standards with HACCP and PRPs being the backbone to all of the GFSI standards. They also emphasized team approach and management commitment as key elements to success.
That was it in a nut shell, nothing groundbreaking but it was good for some of our staff (sales in particular) to hear and see what is happening in the marketplace.

TS



Simon

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Posted 03 February 2010 - 07:24 PM

My summary of the NCA Webinar on 3rd party auditing (focus on GFSI):

The webinar was nicely prepared and covered most of the basics of 3rd party auditing focusing on GFSI standards. It included a brief history of the GFSI committee and why it was benchmarking standards (to consolidate and reduce the need for repetitive auditing). There were some interesting stats given from an ASQ article, but article name was not given.

  • Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults feel the U.S. food recall process is only fair or poor.
  • Seventy-three percent of adults say they are equally concerned about food safety as the war on terror.
  • Eighty-two percent of adults believe that the food industry should be required to follow international standards on food safety.
  • Less than half (48%) said that they actually trust the government’s ability to ensure the safety of food products.
  • Only half believe the federal government does a good job enforcing laws that ensure our nation’s food supply is safe.
  • Ninety-three percent of adults are aware of instances of food recalls due to health and safety concerns in the last three years.
  • This is up from a 2007 Harris Poll, showing 79% were aware of food recall occurrences in the last three years.
  • Food recalls have become even more of a serious concern for adults (47%) versus the 2007 Harris Poll data (29%).
  • A total of 92% of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about recalls.
  • When recalls on brands adults usually purchase do occur, 47% would temporarily purchase another brand and then purchase the recalled brand once it was safe.
  • Twenty-seven percent of adults would avoid using any brand made by the manufacturer of a recalled product. This is up from 21% in 2007
The presenter felt that the GFSI standards were the future and listed Walmart, Kroger, Costco, Wegmans, and Publix as examples of companies asking for GFSI standards. (I also know that Target should be on the list.)

The presenter felt that FSSC would come out as the strongest in the future (presenter had a strong ISO background so their may be some prejudice) but that BRC and SQF were equally strong. Currently in the US, SQF seems to have the strongest support but FSSC is just getting started.

The presenter indicated the similarities between the standards with HACCP and PRPs being the backbone to all of the GFSI standards. They also emphasized team approach and management commitment as key elements to success.
That was it in a nut shell, nothing groundbreaking but it was good for some of our staff (sales in particular) to hear and see what is happening in the marketplace.

TS

Thanks very much TS. So in a nutshell, here are all the reasons why you need a GFSI compliant FSMS and here's how we can help you. :smile: But like you say a useful primer for the uninitiated. Re your own situation I remember you saying you were going down the FSSC route - is that based on customer direction or are you trying to read it?

Regards,
Simon

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tsmith7858

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Posted 03 February 2010 - 09:04 PM

Re your own situation I remember you saying you were going down the FSSC route - is that based on customer direction or are you trying to read it?

Regards,
Simon


The company originally chose ISO 22000 because management was familiar with it. At the time no customer was requiring it or GFSI (which is how I got my job, no food experience, I came out of wood working, but plenty of ISO knowledge :biggrin: ).

We now have several customers asking for GFSI so FSSC was the logical direction since ISO 22000 was already in place and we referenced PAS 220 when we did it. We were also BRC certified for one of our production lines based on a request from a UK customer (it happened before we were ISO 22000 registered). Several customers were pointing towards SQF but we steer them back to GFSI and the fact that FSSC is "equivalent".

The webinar helped our sales group because they are constantly being asked about various FSMS and didn't know what to say. Now they know if someone says GFSI all they need to say is FSSC 22000!

TS




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