Canadian standards recognized internationally

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has announced that the On-Farm Food Safety Program (OFFS) known as the CanadaGAP  (Good Agricultural Practices) program has been successfully benchmarked against GFSI’s requirements.

CanadaGAP, which is administered and maintained by the Canadian Horticultural Council, is geared to fresh fruit and vegetable producers and packers.

The program consists of national food safety standards and a certification system for the safe production, storage and packing of fresh fruits and vegetables.

It’s been recognized by GFSI for certification options B and C and the recognition covers the common food safety requirements that run through the six different commodity specific modules.

This benchmarking process has been completed using an internationally accepted set of food safety requirements, based on industry best practice and sound science, which are developed through a consensus building process by key stakeholders in the food supply chain.

These requirements can be found in the GFSI Guidance Document Version 5.
 
Jürgen Matern, chairman of the GFSI board of directors and vice-president, Strategic Quality Management, Metro AG, says “The current widespread use of this scheme in Canada will facilitate the acceptance and integration of the GFSI principle ‘Certified Once, Accepted Everywhere’ and contribute significantly to driving the enhancement of food safety in the supply chain.”

GFSI is a non-profit collaboration between leading food safety experts from retailer, manufacturer and food service companies, and service providers associated with the food supply chain. It was created under Belgian law in 2000.

The foundation benchmarks existing food standards against food safety criteria and also looks to develop mechanisms to exchange information in the supply chain, to raise consumer awareness and to review existing good retail practices.