Guelph Food Technology Centre (GFTC) has achieved accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a certification body with a scope to deliver certification to the Safe Quality Food (SQF) and British Retail Consortium (BRC) standards.
Food industry stakeholders, such as retailers and food service providers, are requiring that their suppliers become certified to Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-recognized food safety standards such as SQF and BRC. To achieve certification to these standards, it has become necessary for on-farm and post-farm establishments to work with certification bodies such as GFTC. ANSI accreditation assures clients that GFTC’s management system as a certification body is compliant, current and accountable.
GFTC is the first organization with a Canadian head office to receive this recognition and certify to the SQF and BRC standards.
Accreditation marks a further achievement for GFTC in meeting clients’ needs and expands its services globally to include additional standards that are required by industry, such as SQF 1000 and 2000 as well as BRC.
The accreditation means that GFTC’s certification management system is compliant to ISO Guide 65. The process for accreditation includes an extensive review of the certification body’s written policies and documentation as well as an evaluation of auditors in the field. For the past 18 months, GFTC has been auditing to SQF and BRC standards with provisional certification body status but recently, ANSI gave GFTC notice of formal accreditation.
GFTC’s ANSI accreditation comes at a time when GFSI-recognized standards are being considered for incorporation into U.S. legislation as a referencing option for federal regulators. This means that being certified to a GFSI-recognized standard may, in the future, improve market access for North American food and beverage companies.
For more information, contact Frank Schreurs, vice-president of food safety and quality services via e-mail at: fschreurs@gftc.ca.
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