The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) emerged in 2000 to address the need to ensure food safety in Europe. Traditionally, there have been a number of differences between the European and U.S. food retailing chains. One of the most noted differences is that, in Europe, private-label foods have consistently grown in sales. Between 1975 and 1997, for example, the average private-label product doubled in market share in European retail outlets.1 In 2001, private-label brands consisted of 42% of the sales in Tesco and 34% of the sales in Safeway (Table 1). Market surveys estimated that private labels accounted for 40% of European retailer sales in 2005.[1]

Thus, the need arose for retailers to protect their private brands. Previously, major retailers either had internal audit standards and auditors or required specific third-party audits, usually at the supplier’s expense. While they were all trying to achieve the same goal, the production of safe food, the requirements were all different, which meant processors had to grapple with multiple auditing standards and audit types. There were simply too many variables and standards.

One food manufacturing company stated that it supplied 25 retailers, which meant it submitted to three customer corporate audits and four different third-party audits—hence, seven different standards that did not compare “apples to apples.” This particular company was also regulated by the state, which added four more audits to the mix. When the facility’s quality manager was asked by an auditor, “Do you conduct monthly inspections at your facility?” the quality manager replied, “Why do I need to do monthly inspections when I’m already audited every month by a customer or third-party auditors?” Consolidating the number of audit standards to the GFSI’s current four is a step in the right direction, provided that all retailers embrace the GFSI standards.

Development of Food Safety Standards
In 1998, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) developed and introduced the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety to be used to evaluate manufacturers of retailers’ own brand of food products. This standard is now in its fifth edition, which was published on January 4, 2008, and has been translated into 10 languages: Chinese (Simplified), Czech, Dutch, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish and Italian. The BRC Global Standard for Food Safety has evolved into a globally accepted standard used not just to assess retailer suppliers but also as a framework upon which many companies have based their supplier assessment programs and manufacture of products. Following the success of the Global Standard – Food, the BRC published the first issue of the Packaging Standard in 2002, followed by the Consumer Products Standard in August 2003 and finally by the BRC Global Standard – Storage and Distribution in August 2006. Each standard is regularly reviewed and is fully revised and updated at least every three years after consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. These standards are available on BRC’s Web site at www.brc.org.uk/. The major elements of the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety are provided in Supplementary Table 1.

Supplementary Table 1:
The Major Elements of BRC—Global Food Safety Standard Edition 5
Senior management commitment and continuous improvement
Food safety plan (the five preliminary steps and the seven principles of HACCP)
Food safety and quality management system
     Food safety and quality policy
     Food safety and quality manual
     Organizational structure, responsibilities and management authority
     Contract review and customer focus
     Internal audits
     Purchasing — supplier approval and performance monitoring
     General documentation requirements
     Corrective and preventative action
     Traceability
     Complaint handling
     Management incidents, product withdrawal, and product recall
Site standards
     External standards
     Security
     Internal site standards
     Utilities
     Equipment
     Maintenance
     Staff facilities
     Chemical and product contamination control
     Housekeeping and hygiene
     Water/waste disposal
     Pest control
     Storage and transport
Product control
     Product design/development
     Handling requirements for specific materials — materials containing allergens and identify preserved materials
     Foreign body detection
     Product packaging
     Product inspection and laboratory testing
     Control of non-conforming product
     Product release
Process control
     Control of operations
     Quality — weight, volume and number control
     Calibration and control of measuring and monitoring devices
Personnel
     Training
     Access and movement of personnel
     Personal hygiene
     Medical screening
     Protective clothing

Source: BRC. 2008. Global standard for food safety, Issue 5. British Retail Consortium, London UK.

The International Food Standard (IFS) was first published in 2003 by the German Retail Union food retailers (Hauptverband des Deutschen Einzelhandels or HDE). In 2003, French retailers and wholesalers from France’s Federation of Commercial and Distribution Companies (FDC) joined the IFS Working Group and contributed to the development of the IFS standard’s fifth edition, which was published August 5, 2007. The IFS standard is available at www.ifs-certification.com. Its major elements are described in Supplementary Table 2.

Supplementary Table 2:
The Major Elements of IFS — International Food Standard Edition 5
Senior management responsibility
     Corporate policy/corporate principles
     Corporate structure
     Customer focus
     Management review
Quality management system
     HACCP - The five preliminary steps and the seven principles of HACCP
     HACCP system
     Assemble HACCP team
     HACCP analysis
     Documentation requirements
     Record keeping
Resource management
     Human resources management
     Human resources
          Personal hygiene
          Protective clothing for personnel, contractors, and visitors
          Procedures applicable to infectious diseases
     Training
     Sanitary facilities, equipment for personnel hygiene and staff facilities
Production process
     Contract review
     Product specifications
     Product development
     Purchasing
     Product packaging
     Factory environment standards
          Choice of location
          Exteriors
          Plant layout and process flows
          Building and facilities
          Constructional requirements
          Walls and partition walls
          Floors
          Ceilings/overheads
          Windows and other openings
          Doors
          Lighting
          Air conditioning (ventilation)
          (Drinking) water supply
     Housekeeping and hygiene
     Waste and waste disposal
     Risk of foreign bodies, metal, broken glass and wood
     Pest monitoring/pest control
     Receipt of goods and storage
     Transport
     Maintenance and repair
     Equipment
     Process validation
     Traceability including GMOs and allergens
     Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
     Allergens and specific conditions or production
Measurements, analysis improvement
     Internal audits
     Site factory inspections
     Process control
     Calibration and checking of measuring and monitoring devices
     Quantity checking(quantity control/filling quantities)
     Product analysis
     Product quarantine and product release
     Management of complaints from authorities and customers
     Management of incidents, product withdrawal, product recall
     Management of non-conforming products
     Corrective actions

Source: IFS. 2007. International food standard – Standard for auditing retailer and wholesaler branded food products version 5. HDE Trade Services GmbH, Berlin, Germany.

The Safe Quality Food (SQF) 2000 Code provides a food safety and quality management certification program that is tailored to the needs of the food processor. The code was developed in Australia in 1994, and pilot programs were implemented to ensure its applicability to the food industry. It was prepared with the assistance of experts in quality management, food safety, food regulation, food processing, agriculture production systems, food retailing, food distribution and the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) guidelines. The Food Marketing Institute acquired the rights to the SQF program in August 2003 and has established the SQF Institute (SQFI) division to manage the program. The SQF 2000 Code Level 2 is recognized by the GFSI as a standard that meets its benchmark requirements. The SQF 2000 Code has evolved with time and the sixth edition, published in August 2008, is posted on the SQFI Web site at sqfi.com. The SQF 2000 Code is available in both English and Spanish; its major elements are described in Supplementary Table 3.

Table 3:
The Major Elements of SQF 2000 Code —
A HACCP-based Supplier Assurance Code for the Food Industry Edition 6
SQF 2000 system requirements
     Commitment
          Management policy
          Management responsibility
          Food safety and quality management system
          Management review
          Complaint management
          Business continuity planning
     Documentation control and records
          Documentation control
          Records
     Specifications and product development
          Product development and realization
          Raw materials
          Packaging
          Contract service providers
          Contract manufacturers
          Finished product
     Attaining food safety
          Food legislation (regulations)
          Food safety fundamentals
          Food safety plan
          Food quality plan
          Incoming goods and services
          Corrective and preventative action
          Non-conforming product or equipment
          Product rework
          Product release
          Stock rotation
     Verification
          Responsibility, frequency, and methods
          Validation
          Verification of monitoring activities
          Product sampling, inspection, and analysis
          Internal audits
          Verification schedule
     Product identification, trace, withdrawal, and recall
          Product identification
          Product trace
          Product withdrawal and recall
     Site security
          Food defense
     Identity-preserved foods
          General requirements

Food safety fundamentals — building and equipment design and construction
     Site requirements and approval
          Premise location
          Construction and operational approval
     Food handling areas
          Materials and surfaces
          Floors, drains, and waste traps
          Walls, partitions, doors, and ceilings
          Stairs, catwalks, and platforms
          Lighting and light fittings
     Inspection area
     Dust-, fly- and vermin-proofing
     Ventilation
     Equipment, utensils, and protective clothing
     Cleaning of equipment, utensils and protective clothing
     Hand-washing facilities
     Protective clothing racks
     Vehicles
     Water and ice supply
          Water supply
          Water delivery
          Ice supply
          Water treatment
     Storage facilities
          Cold storage, freezing, and chilling of foods
          Storage and dry ingredient storage and shelf-stable packaged goods
          Storage and packaging
          Storage of equipment and receptacles
          Storage of hazardous chemicals and toxic substances
          Alternative storage and handling of goods
     Separation of functions
          Process flow
          Receipt of raw materials
          Thawing of product
          High-risk processes
          Other processes
     On-site laboratories
          Location
     Staff amenities
          General
          Change rooms
          Showers
          Laundry
          Sanitary facilities
          Lunchrooms
     First aid facilities
          Access to first aid
     Waste disposal
          Dry and liquid waste disposal
     Exterior
          Grounds and roadways
Food safety fundamentals prerequisite programs
     Personnel practices
          Personnel
          Clothing jewelry and personal effects
          Visitors
     Personnel processing practices
          Staff engaged in food handling and processing operations
     Training of personnel
          Training requirements
          Training program
          Instructions
          HACCP training requirements
          Language
          Refresher training
          Training skills register
     Calibration of equipment
          Calibration methods
          Calibration standards
          Calibration schedule
          Records
     Management of pests and vermin
          Requirements
          Pest and vermin control program
          Using pest-control chemicals
          Pest-control contractors
          Disposal of unused pest-control chemicals
     Premises and equipment maintenance
          Maintenance program
          Instruction to maintenance personnel and contractors
          Maintenance schedule
          Equipment lubrication and paints
     Cleaning and sanitation
          Cleaning and sanitation program
          Evaluating the effectiveness of cleaning
          Purchasing storage and use of detergents and sanitizers
          Disposal of unused detergents and sanitizers
     Monitoring water microbiology and quality
          Standard
          Water Treatment
          Analysis
     Control of physical contamination
          Foreign material
          Detection of foreign objects
          Managing foreign matter contamination incidents
     Supplier approval
          Selecting approved suppliers
          Approved supplier program
          Monitoring approved suppliers
          Register
          Records
     Transport and delivery
          Transport, loading, and unloading practices
          Loading
          Transport
          Unloading
     Waste management and disposal
          Dry, wet and liquid waste
          Removal from food handling and processing areas
          Maintaining waste removal equipment and areas
          Monitoring waste removal
     Allergen control
          Allergen control program
          Risk analysis
          Receiving and storage raw materials
          Storing product containing allergy-causing agents
          Sanitation of processing area and equipment
          Batch identification and trace
          Re-working product containing allergy-causing agents

Requirements for food contained in hermetically sealed rigid, flexible or semi-rigid containers
     Canning operations
          Canning equipment
          Establishing the scheduled process
          Thermal processing
          Seam and seal integrity
          Quality assurance

Source: www.sqfi.com.

The SQF 1000 Code provides a food safety and quality management certification program for the primary producer. A draft of that code’s fifth edition was available for comment by May 1, 2009. On February 4, 2009, GLOBALGAP and SQFI announced that the SQF 1000 standard will be benchmarked to the GLOBALGAP standard. Benchmarking by GLOBALGAP means that SQF will be able to offer produce growers a food safety certification that is recognized by both GFSI and GLOBALGAP. As a result, a primary producer will be able to receive both SQF and GLOBALGAP certification at the same time in a single audit. The SQF Codes are reviewed every three years by the SQFI Technical Advisory Council.

In 2004, the Foundation of Food Safety Systems (SCV) was founded by the National Board of Experts in the Netherlands. The SCV maintains the Dutch certification scheme for a standard that is known as Dutch HACCP. For all practical purposes, Dutch HACCP has not emerged as a major player in the U.S. market, so this standard’s major elements are not described here. However, the standard is available at www.foodsafetymanagement.info.

These private entities began to develop food safety standards for certification, bringing increased costs to European food retailers since a food processor may have sold product to several retailers, each wanting products to be certified to a different standard.

ISO 22000: Bringing Harmony to the Standards
In 2001, Danish Standards requested that ISO undertake the development of an international food safety management standard. By this time, there were not only a large number of private standards but a number of countries—including Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Australia and the United States—also had their own national food safety standards. Thus, the ISO sought to harmonize and publish an international food safety standard. In 2005, the ISO working group accomplished its objective and published ISO 22000.

ISO standards are developed using a transparent process that is designed to encourage input from all of the standard’s stakeholders. This is done by having both a national Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and an international standards working group. Sometimes a TAG is called a Mirror Group. The TAG is open to all professionals with the appropriate credentials who want to contribute to the standards development or review process. At the national level, each TAG develops a consensus position that is taken to the international committee by the national delegation.

ISO 22000 has a structure similar to ISO 9001:2000 and other ISO management system standards, such as ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 14001 (environmental management) and OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety management). This allows the development of multiple management systems using a similar structure and the potential sharing of general management system procedures.

ISO 22000 made several significant contributions to the understanding of food safety management systems. First, it strengthened the need for food safety communications both internally and externally. Second, it introduced requirements such as emergency preparedness and formal updating of the food safety management system. Third, ISO 22000 was the first standard to separate validation from verification. This brought the standard in alignment with the draft version (and eventually, the final version) of the Codex standard.[2] Finally, the requirements were defined within the context of a system. Figure 1 shows one example of how the food safety management system is connected. The standard provides numerous examples of how the elements link together to form the food safety management system. The major elements of ISO 22000 are described in Supplementary Table 4.

The Major Elements of ISO 22000:2005 —Food Safety Management Systems — Requirements for Any Organization in the Food Chain

Source: ISO. 2005. Food safety management systems – Requirement for any organization in the food chain. ISO 22000:2005. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland.

CIES and GFSI Contributions to Food Safety Standards
The CIES (Comité International d’Entreprises à Succursales) or The Food Business Forum was founded in Europe in 1953 to represent food retailers. A U.S. office was opened in 1956. Over the years, the CIES continually expanded its membership to include other associations, service providers to the retailers, food manufacturing suppliers and cooperatives. The organization currently has over 400 members from 150 countries.

In 2000, the CIES launched the GSFI, which originally started with the major European food retailers. The primary decision-making body is the GSFI Foundation Board, and its original objective was to have a common set of requirements for the European food safety schemes. This has expanded to “continuous improvement in food safety management systems to ensure confidence in the delivery of safe food to consumers.”[4]

Over the years, the Board has expanded to 16 professionals who represent retailers, foodservice companies and food manufacturers around the world. Nine members are from Europe, six members are from the U.S. and one member is from Asia. Membership on the board is by invitation only.

The GFSI has issued a guidance document that lists the requirements for a “conforming food safety management standard.” It states that such a standard must include the following key elements:

• Food safety management system

• Good food practices

• HACCP, based on either the Codex definition of HACCP or the National Advisory Committee for the Microbiological Criteria for Foods definition of HACCP

The guidance document’s focus is food safety. The writers have intentionally excluded a number of issues, including product quality, environment, social/ethical issues, animal welfare, sustainability, biotechnology and innovative processes. Supplementary Table 5 at provides further elaboration on the elements of a food safety management system. The document shows how existing standard owners can seek alignment to the requirements, provides a framework for benchmarking and offers guidance on the operations of the certification process. GSFI emphasizes that the guidance document, which is updated every five years, is not a standard.

Table 5:
Key Food Safety Management Systems Elements as Required by GFSI Guidance Document Edition 5

KEY REQUIREMENTS      Food safety policy      Food safety manual      Management commitment      Management review including HACCP verification      Resource management      General documentation requirements      Specifications      Procedures      Internal audits      Corrective action      Control of non-conformity      Product release      Purchasing      Supplier performance monitoring      Traceability      Compliant handing      Serious incident management      Control of measuring and monitoring devices      Product analysis GMP REQUIREMENTS      Facility environment      Local environment      Facility layout and product flow      Fabrication or construction of facility      Equipment      Maintenance      Staff faculties      Foreign body and chemical contamination risk      Housekeeping cleaning and hygiene      Water quality management      Waste management      Pest control      Personal hygiene      Training      Protective clothing      Cross-contamination risk      Segregation — to avoid cross-contamination      Stock management or rotation      Medical screening      Veterinary medicine — ensure that veterinary residues do not exceed published maximum residue levels (MRLs)      Pesticide, herbicide and fungal control — pesticide residues do not exceed published MRLs      Post-harvest treatment — NA      Feedstuffs - NA AUDITOR REQUIREMENTS      Auditor competencies      Education      Work experience — min 2 years in food area      Formal auditor training and experience      Initial training      Continual training      Auditor attributes Source: www.ciesnet.com GFSI uses two ISO standards to manage the certification schemes. The first is ISO Guide 65, and the second is ISO 22003.4 The certification scheme consists of the following components: • The food safety management system standard • A clearly defined scope • A certification system that consists of requirements for auditors, a statement of the approximate duration and frequency of the audits, and the minimum content of the audit report At present, four standards have met all of the benchmarking requirements for GFSI. These standards are BRC issue 5; IFS version 5; Dutch HACCP option B; SQF 1000 Edition 4 (GFSI recognition at Level 3) and 2000 Edition 6 (GFSI recognition at Level 2). ISO 22000 and GFSI The GFSI Technical Committee has looked at ISO 22000. It has identified the following three areas where differences exist between ISO 22000 and the GFSI Guidance Document.[4] Those differences are the following: • Lack of defined prerequisite programs in ISO 22000 • Differences in accreditation between ISO 22000 and GFSI; ISO 22000 accreditation scheme is to ISO 22003 and ISO 17021 while GFSI is to ISO 22003 and ISO Guide 65 • Ownership and accountability issues At the February 2009 meeting of the GSFI in Barcelona, Dr. Cor Groenveld, Chairman of the Board Foundation for SCV in the Netherlands, presented a certification scheme that is designed to harmonize the differences between ISO 22000 and GFSI benchmark requirements.[5] The critical parts of the SCV proposal include the following: • A certification scheme using ISO 22000, PAS 220 (see sidebar What is PAS 220 ), ISO 22003 and ISO Guide 65 as the standards for certification. • A focus on the scope of certification on food safety audits, ensuring transparency of the certification process and operating under a not-for-profit approach. Dr. Groenveld also discussed how ISO 22000 and other prerequisite program standards could be used to provide certification schemes for other parts of the food chain, including packaging, manufacturing, animal production and plant production. The GFSI Technical Committee is currently determining if this audit scheme meets the GFSI benchmarking requirements for a food safety management system. Editor’s note: It was expected that the Technical Committee would announce its decision in May, but at press time the decision had not yet been made public. Comparison of the Standards Whenever the GFSI standards are presented at various international forums, there is a discussion on which standard is best. Various criteria are used in the comparison. One comparison was made by Dr. Mike Robach, vice president of corporate food safety and regulatory affairs at Cargill.[6] Comprising the basis of the comparison were 67 key criteria for food safety, regulatory and quality management that are critical to Cargill. Dr. Robach reported the following scores at a USDA-FSIS meeting: • ISO 22000:2005 96% • BRC version 4 93% • Dutch HACCP option B 81% • IFS version 4 94% • SQF 2000 level 3 edition 5 91% • GFSI guidance document version 5 91% Another comparison among the various standards was made by Kathy Wybourn, director of food safety solutions, and Andrea Niemann-Haberhausen, manager of food services, both at DNV. They compiled a matrix, illuminating what is involved in each standard (BRC, IFS, and SQF): what kind of prerequisite preparations are needed, auditor qualifications, how the audit grading systems work, time frames for conducting audits, and how much each type of audit would cost.[7] Thus, one can ask the question, are there any real differences between the standards? All of the standards are relatively equivalent but each tends to have its own emphasis. ISO 22000 takes a strong management system approach. These are requirements that link the food safety management system to other business processes. It also emphasizes linking the elements of the standard to form a management system. The standard has strong internal and external communication requirements and a number of feedback loops to improve and update the food safety management system. BRC, IFS and SQF 2000 have more specific or prescriptive requirements for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), or prerequisite programs that make them stronger with regard to operational issues such as post-process contamination control. This is not insignificant. The BRC has 326 requirements in its standard, the IFS has 250 requirements in its standard and SQF 2000 has a checklist with 41[8] single checkpoints for document review and 429 single checkpoints for the on-site review.[7] The proper design, implementation and maintenance of the prerequisite programs also is significant. When FDA recently evaluated the root cause of Class I and Class II recalls,8 the agency reported that 88% of the recalls were linked to failures in GMP programs (Figure 2). If one looks at the most recent, high-profile recalls that have occurred in the U.S., the root causes of these recalls appear to be failures of GMPs rather than failures in the HACCP system. ISO 22000, SQF 2000, BRC and IFS require the development of strong GMP programs that are validated, verified and improved. Number differences can lead to confusion between the various standards. When comparisons are made, it is important to compare not only the standards but also the guidance documents. The guidance document for ISO 22000 is ISO 22004. In addition, both SQF 2000 and BRC have guidance documents. These documents present information on how the standard should be interpreted. Some individuals tend to misread these documents. The normative standard is written using the words “shall” or “must.” The guidance documents are written using the word “should.” These guidance documents present a state-of-the-art interpretation. Many auditors and certification bodies expect that the food processor will implement the interpretation in the guidance. There is an exception if the food processor implements a component of the food safety system that exceeds the description in the guidance documents and is demonstrated with a validation document. So as each processor asks the question, “Which standard is better?” management must look at which standard is best suited to the company’s corporate culture and existing quality assurance and food safety systems. This is a critical issue, as company executives must be willing to commit resources, time and capital to developing a food safety management system that meets the requirements of a specific standard and practice according to that standard 24/7. ISO 22003 In 2007, ISO published ISO TS 22003. This standard was developed jointly by ISO Technical Committee 34 and the ISO Committee on Conformity Assessment. This standard was the first sector-specific auditor standard published by ISO. It presents the specific requirements related to food safety that must be used by accreditation bodies, certification bodies and auditors in certifying food safety management systems. It is designed to be used with ISO 22000 and other food safety management system standards. ISO 22003 is not a stand-alone standard. It is used in conjunction with two additional ISO standards: • ISO 19011:2002 (Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing), • ISO 17021:2006 (Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems) These three standards provide the requirements for managing the certification process. GFSI incorporated the requirements of the ISO 22003 standard into the fifth edition of its Guidance Document. ISO 22003 Auditor Requirements ISO 22003 defines the competencies that are required by an auditor. These auditor requirements focus on the following areas: • Knowledge of HACCP, prerequisite programs, and food safety • Knowledge of the food processing systems that will be audited • Ability to audit a food safety management system • Work experience—the auditor must have five years of full-time work experience in the food chain with at least two years’ work experience in food safety functions • Audit experience—the auditor must have a minimum of 12 days auditing food safety management systems ISO 22003 divides the entire food chain into 13 categories. All food safety management system auditors must have knowledge at the post-secondary education level in general chemistry and microbiology. In addition, auditors must have knowledge at the post-secondary education level in the categories they are auditing. The overall objective of ISO 22003 is to ensure that auditors meet the minimum requirements to conduct an effective audit. GFSI Auditor Qualifications GFSI has developed a process to ensure the credibility of the audit certification process by guaranteeing that certification organizations, which must be licensed and accredited, conduct the audits following strict guidelines and that the auditors meet strict competencies. In the U.S., the American National Standards Institute accredits these organizations for SQF audits. The GFSI specifications also mandate qualifications for auditors. Auditors must have the proper level of education, work experience in food processing, knowledge of food safety, experience in auditing food safety management systems and certain personal attributes. In addition, the auditor must be current in the various competencies needed to audit food safety management systems. The minimum requirements for auditors to conduct audits against the BRC Global Standard for Safety include: education, work experience in any one of six specific product categories for which they are approved, qualifications (BRC third-party auditing course taught by BRC; two-day HACCP course; Global Food Standards for Food Safety course) and auditor training (supervised training including witnessed audits). An overview of the auditor requirements are available at www.brc.org.uk. The minimum requirements for SQF auditor registration include completion of an SQF auditor course taught by SQFI or designee and completion of on-line SQF auditor exam; completion of an auditor training course (minimum of eight hours); completion of a HACCP training course with certificate issued; completion of at least 160 hours of food safety and/or quality auditing in the food industry; and at least five years work experience in food safety, HACCP Program management and/or quality systems management; five years work experience within the requested Food Sector Category (FSC), or 120/160 (for high-risk FSC) audit hours within requested FSC or a combination of audit experience and work experience for each FSC requested. There are currently 30 FSC for Processing and Manufacture – SQF 2000 Code (SQF Program Food Sector Categories 3rd Edition amended December 2008 available at www.sqfi.com). The SQF auditor requirements are outlined in SQF’s Criteria for SQF Auditors 5th Edition issued January 2009 available at www.sqfi.com. Moving into the Future Improvements are continually being made to strengthen food safety management systems. As part of this effort, GFSI continues to examine areas in which it may improve the guidance document. Areas that are being addressed include auditor competencies, communications, implementing food safety management systems in emerging markets, ensuring that food safety management systems are implemented throughout the entire food chain, driving further convergence in the audit schemes, benchmarking additional audit schemes and revising the guidance document. John G. Surak, Ph.D., is the principal of Surak and Associates and provides consulting on food safety and quality management systems, auditing management systems, designing and implementing process control systems and implementing Six Sigma and business analytics systems. His Web site is www.stratecon-intl.com/jsurak.html. Dr. Surak can be reached at jgsurak@yahoo.com. Kathy L. Gombas was formerly with Dean Foods in Dallas, Texas. She can be reached at kathy_gombas@comcast.net. References 1. www.farmfoundation.org/news/articlefiles/ 360-KSwoffer.pdf. 2. www.codexalimentarius.net/web/standard_ list.do?lang=en. 3. ISO. 2005. Food safety management systems – Guidance on the application of ISO TS 2004:2005. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland. 4. www.ciesnet.com/2-wwedo/2.2-programmes/2.2.foodsafety.gfsi.asp. 5. Groenveld, C. 2009. FSSC 22000 – Food safety system certification scheme – ISO 22000, and PAS 220. CIES Food Safety Conference. Barcelona, Spain. www.ciesfoodsafety.com. 6. www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/nacmpi/Aug2008/4-Robach.pdf. 7. Wybourn, K. and A. Niemann-Haberhauser. 2009. Wal-Mart’s Magna Carta for Auditing. Food Quality Magazine 15:26-31. 8. www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cgmps2.html

What is PAS 220?

PAS stands for Publicly Available Specification. A PAS is a document based on the British Standard model and used to standardize best practices on a specific subject for the benefit of an industry.

National and international standards must reach full consensus between all of the stakeholders of the standard. The PAS invites comments from stakeholders, but may not incorporate the comments. As a result, a usable document can be developed in a short period of time (about eight months), thus allowing for implementation by stakeholders. In contrast, it typically takes five years to complete the initial development of an international standard.

PASs can be elevated to national or international status by submitting them through the standards development process. Once a national or international standard is issued, British Standards will withdraw the PAS.[1]

PAS 220:2008[2] was developed to be used with ISO 22000 to provide further detail of prerequisite programs as found in element 7.2.3. This specification was developed by food safety professionals representing the Food and Drink Foundation, McDonald’s, General Mills – Europe, Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, the French National Association of Food Industries and ProCert Organisme Certifacteur. The standard also had support from Dannon, Kraft Foods, Nestlé and Unilever.

The standard addresses the following prerequisite programs:

•    Construction and layout of buildings

•    Layout of premises and workspace

•    Utilities – air, water, energy

•    Waste disposal

•    Equipment suitability, cleaning and maintenance

•    Management of purchased materials

•    Measures for prevention of cross-contamination

•    Cleaning and sanitizing

•    Pest control

•    Personal hygiene and employee facilities

•    Product recall procedures

•    Warehousing

•    Product information and consumer awareness

•    Food defense