Safe Quality Food – SQF

The Safe Quality Food or SQF Program is a third-party certification program managed by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI). SQF is a complete food safety and quality management system and is the only GFSI globally recognized standard based in the United States. An increasing number of U.S. and international food retailers are now expressing a preference for SQF Certified Suppliers. In the last year alone, the number of SQF registered companies has increased more than 100% globally and more than 400% just in North America! SQF certificates have now been issued in more than 30 countries.

Why are more suppliers and their buyers requesting SQF? SQF independent certification provides assurance that food has been produced, processed, and handled according to the highest possible standards and that it has met domestic and international food safety regulations. This leading risk analysis and prevention-based standard also serves the needs of all levels of the food supply chain and offers a host of unique features and benefits.

British Retail Consortium – BRC

A UK trade organization, called the British Retail Consortium, has developed the BRC Global Standard – Food in order to establish a standard for food organizations to perform due diligence and supplier approval. It is also a GFSI accepted standard, meaning that if your organization becomes accredited to BRC, your products will be accepted anywhere GFSI is. As with any other GFSI standard, BRC includes provisions for food, packaging, storage, HACCP plans, process control, quality management systems, and product control.