New document to come for food safety guidance

Consultation closes this month on the latest version of a guidance document for the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI v6), which seeks to converge the requirements of third-party certification schemes recognised under its umbrella.

GFSI v6, which is managed by The Consumer Goods Forum, differs from earlier guidance in that it defines the scope of products and services covered. The transition schedule for recognition of schemes against guidance documents v5 and v6 will be published in September, along with the new document.

GFSI recognised schemes include: The British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standard v5; Food Safety System Certification 22000; International Food Standard v5; Safe Quality Food 2000 Level 2; and Synergy 2000.

Safety experts spent months developing the v6 document.

In a separate move, the BRC is known to be consulting its stakeholders about adding additional modules to its standard covering specific categories, as well as possible 'unannounced audits'.