In order to maintain trust and confidence in GFSI-recognised certification programmes and preserve the integrity of GFSI recognition, the GFSI Steering Committee has suspended recognition of certification programmes owned by the Equitable Food Initiative until evidence of re-alignment to GFSI Benchmarking requirements v 2020 is provided by the Certification Programme Owner EFI. This suspension took effect on 7th June 2024.
As a reminder, the scope of GFSI recognition applies to the following certification programme owned by Equitable Food Initiative:
Food Safety Standards, Guidance, & Interpretations Version 2.0, November 30th, 2018, specifically against GFSI scopes:
- BI Farming of Plants (other than grains and pulses)
- BIII Pre-process Handling of Plant Products.
As part of the GFSI Governance Rules, EFI has a right to appeal this decision. The decision to suspend EFI will remain in effect unless and until any appeal is successful.
GFSI have prepared a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for all potentially impacted GFSI stakeholders. If you cannot find answers to your specific questions in our FAQ document, please contact gfsibm@theconsumergoodsforum.com