Safe Quality Food (Ed. 9)

SQF stands for Safe Quality Food, a family of GFSI-recognized certification programs administered by the SQF Institute. The current version is Edition 9. SQF is a rigorous, farm-to-fork scheme with codes tailored to different points in the supply chain, from primary production through manufacturing to storage, distribution and retail. It is widely requested across North America and by the retailers and foodservice groups that source there, which makes it a natural choice for companies serving the U.S. market.

One feature makes SQF especially flexible: it offers more than one level of certification. You can certify to the SQF Food Safety program, which is the GFSI-recognized level focused on producing safe food, or you can step up to the combined Safety and Quality certification, which adds quality management on top of the food safety base. That lets you match the certificate to what your customers actually ask for, safety alone or safety plus demonstrated quality, without switching schemes. Like the other major GFSI programs, SQF rests on a solid HACCP foundation.

SQF fits food and beverage businesses that need a credible, GFSI-recognized certificate, particularly those selling into North American retail and foodservice. If a U.S. retailer or distributor is a target customer, SQF is frequently the scheme they name. Typical candidates include:

• Food and beverage manufacturers and processors across chilled, frozen and ambient categories
• Primary producers, growers and packers under the relevant SQF codes
• Storage and distribution operations in the cold and dry chain
• Food packaging manufacturers supplying the industry
• Private-label and co-manufacturing suppliers
• Retail and foodservice operations that handle or prepare food

The choice between SQF Food Safety and the combined Safety and Quality certification usually depends on whether a customer wants quality demonstrated as well as safety. That, and confirming SQF is even the right scheme versus another GFSI option, is exactly what we sort out with you at the start, so you certify to the right level for the right customers the first time.

An SQF system pairs a set of system-wide requirements with the good-practice module for your specific sector. Whichever code applies, you will need to show that you have:

• Management commitment and responsibility, including a documented policy, defined roles and a designated SQF practitioner who understands the system
• A HACCP-based food safety plan built on Codex principles, controlling hazards specific to your products and processes
• Prerequisite and good manufacturing practice programs from the relevant module, covering premises, equipment, hygiene, cleaning, pest control and personnel
• Product and process control, including allergen management, food defense, food fraud mitigation and product release
• Traceability, identification, recall and withdrawal systems that are documented and tested
• Verification and improvement through internal audits, corrective and preventive action, validation and management review
• For the combined program, an added layer of quality management aimed at consistently meeting product specifications

Certification involves a document review and an on-site audit by a licensed certification body, and SQF audits are scored, with the outcome expressed on a rating scale. Certification is then maintained through regular surveillance and recertification audits, and SQF includes unannounced audit options.

The most immediate benefit is market access, especially in North America, where many retailers and distributors will only buy from GFSI-certified suppliers and often specify SQF. One recognized audit satisfies many customers at once and cuts down the second-party audits that eat your team's time.

The scoring and rating add a useful edge: a strong outcome is something you can show buyers as evidence that your site is well run. And because SQF lets you extend from food safety into combined safety and quality, you can turn the same certification effort into a genuine quality advantage, fewer out-of-spec products, fewer complaints, more consistent supply. Underneath it all, a well-built SQF system lowers your risk of recalls and holds and gives management a clear, data-backed view of how the operation is performing.

For more than 30 years we have focused on getting food and manufacturing companies certified and keeping them there. Over 900 organizations have earned certification with our help, and they have passed the certification audit the first time, giving us a 100% first-time pass rate. Most reach certification in a typical 5 to 9 months, depending on where they begin.

Our proven 10-Step Approach carries you from decision to certificate. We start by confirming SQF is the right scheme, and whether you need Food Safety or the combined Safety and Quality level for your customers. From there we run gap assessment, planning, documentation, training, implementation and internal auditing, then support you through the scored audit itself. We work shoulder to shoulder with your team and develop your SQF practitioner, so the system is genuinely yours long after we finish.

And we keep it lean. Our single-level documentation stays under 200 pages, one clear, usable level rather than the four-tier stack of manuals that other consultants leave behind. That is what lets your people actually run the system day to day, and it is a big part of why our clients pass, and score well, the first time.

• Certifying to the wrong level. Some sites pay for combined Safety and Quality when a customer only needed Food Safety, or vice versa. We match the level to your buyers.
• An underprepared SQF practitioner. The role is central to the system. We develop the person so they can carry it after we leave.
• HACCP that does not match the floor. A plan that looks good on paper but ignores real practice. We make it accurate and defensible.
• Weak prerequisite and GMP programs. These are the foundation, and thin ones cost you points in a scored audit.
• Documentation overload. Bloated multi-tier manuals nobody reads. We keep it to one lean level.
• No self-audit discipline. Sites that cannot audit themselves lose their rating over time. We build that capability with you.