Global Food Safety Initiative Improves Organizational Culture, Efficiency in Food Industry

Citing the reduction in audits that facilities face, Elchlepp emphasized, “The GFSI concept of ‘once certified, accepted everywhere’ has allowed clients to focus on one standard instead of a wide variety of inconsistent second-party audits. It’s all about utilizing best operating practices to achieve goals that increase quality and profitability.”

As Process Management Consulting’s vice president of audit operations, Maggie R. Smith noted that, “starting about three years ago, GFSI food safety audits have become the majority of audits that I perform.” She finds that the reduction in audits is a major benefit to clients achieving GFSI-benchmarked certification. “GFSI generally reduces the number of audits a facility has. I audited a client who was required to have 17 different audits a year. Now, with GFSI in place, they go through only two different types of audits per year.”

Another upside for the manufacturer is described by Martin: “There is real potential for reduction in customer complaints, reworks, and waste product,” he explained. “Once a facility is able to fine-tune their processes, there may be an opportunity to become more efficient. To make it all click at the outset requires genuine management commitment along with staff working together, but once defined and worked out, it’s a guided path that drives improvement and efficiency.”

Elchlepp noted that one of Capjem’s SQF clients increased operational efficiency by more than 90% as a result of the certification process. One large multinational manufacturer reported significant cost reductions to GFSI from the elimination of redundant audits. Another reported 90% fewer recalls.

Not Just Another Checklist Audit

Along with a growing enthusiasm for GFSI, each expert I polled openly shared some of the potential challenges for any food manufacturer wanting to achieve a GFSI certification. Martin cautioned that a facility cannot assume its GFSI audit is just another checklist audit. “They will quickly discover it’s not necessarily plug and play.” GFSI has created a new paradigm that transcends the pass/fail mentality of most supplier audits.

Elchlepp advised that GFSI requires “a complete change of culture throughout the organization in order to really adapt to the standards and principles of GFSI. Implementation has to be from top management throughout the organization. Everyone needs to buy into the concept and live it day in and day out.” She described it as a “completely different mindset of rules, so it’s very important your facility goes into an audit prepared.”

The audit expectation GAP and preassessment audits are based on the clause requirements in the standard. An auditor can do either. If a site elects to make sure they are as thoroughly prepared as they can be, having a consultant do a GAP first is the way to go.

Thrash added that he sees “a definite need for consulting during the process of preparing for a GFSI audit,” emphasizing that auditors played this role in the past. “Under GFSI, auditors are not allowed to provide consulting, so the process requires the involvement of consultants in this field.” Martin counseled that, while clauses of GFSI standards may seem similar to other food safety audits in the past, “from the GFSI standpoint, the auditor goes deeper in determining whether conformance to a food safety requirement has been achieved, asking the food manufacturer if there is documentation to support production GMPs. On top of that, non-conformances must be corrected and documented within specified timeframes. This is a strong incentive for the food manufacturer to be active and constantly improving. GFSI has teeth that other audits don’t. It’s a system that is improving food safety, with preventive and corrective actions.” The requirement that non-conformances must be corrected and implemented before certification is a key difference between the supplier checklist audit and the GFSI audit.

Audit Preparation

Meeting the requirements of a GFSI audit can seem daunting at first. But by taking the “say what you do, do what you say, and prove it” approach, meeting the requirements of the food safety standard might be better understood:

• Say what you do: For each requirement in the standard, you need a written procedure or policy detailing how you address that specific requirement;
• Do what you say: Since you now have a written procedure, you need the tools to document it. These could be production forms, records, or logs; and
• Prove it: The auditor will want to see completed documents that demonstrate that you are operating your food safety system according to your written procedures. The GFSI standard demands a tight system and the involvement of the entire team. Along with the quality assurance manager, the plant manager, the vice president, and staff all the way down the line must be actively engaged to ensure that an audit is as successful as it can be.