GFSI Delivers Expertise Across Global Supply Chain

Three years later and the results are noticeable, with certification bodies and their clients sharing best practice examples with their competitors during the 2014 GFSI Conference, validating the conference theme of “one world, one safe food supply.”

Outgoing GFSI board chairman Yves Rey, corporate quality general manager at Danone, lead the GFSI forward—expanding into Asia and broadening the organization’s focus to include smaller suppliers and less developed markets as focus audiences. Frank Yiannas, vice president, food safety for Wal-Mart is also stepping down as vice chair. However, the appointment of Cenk Gürol, group chief SCM officer at Aeon Co., Ltd. and president at Aeon Global SCM Co., as GFSI board chairman, along with Neil Marshall, global director, quality and food safety strategy, policy and programs for The Coca-Cola Company, U.S., and Mike Robach, vice president, food safety, quality and regulatory affairs at Cargill, U.S., as vice chairs of the GFSI, will help ensure a smooth transition in GFSI leadership.

With the 2014 conference now complete and plans for the 2015 Global Conference, which for the first time ever will be held in Asia, in full swing, the results of the GFSI’s work are clearly visible. From the original 100 plus standards and schemes, about a dozen are left, with these being regularly assessed by the GFSI Technical Committee to ensure their relevancy. The GFSI’s motto “Once certified, accepted everywhere” has had a profound impact in reducing the number of audits that suppliers face, while simultaneously increasing the effectiveness of those audits.

The 2014 Global Food Safety Conference was the largest ever and was led by organizations at the top of the food chain, with speakers from Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Danone, Barilla, Mondelez, Mars, Walt Disney, Cargill, and 3M to name but a few of the companies that shared their approach to successfully managing food safety.

The GFSI’s mission is to “provide continuous improvement in food safety management systems to ensure confidence in the delivery of safe food to consumers worldwide.” Over the past 14 years, it has successfully engaged retailers, manufacturers, large and small suppliers, and a range of other key stakeholder groups, proving that the sum is greater than the parts. It is not the GFSI’s goal to be a household name, but its work and impact on the lives of consumers is proving a catalyst for change for organizations across the global food supply chain, delivering improved food safety performance, increased confidence in the performance of food safety management systems, and the value of independent assessment of those systems as well as reduced audit duplicity.

Groenveld is global head of food supply chain services at LRQA and chair of the foundation for Food Safety Certification. Reach him at [email protected].