15 answers
What GFSI is, how the main schemes differ, and how certification works.
The Global Food Safety Initiative is an industry-led initiative under The Consumer Goods Forum. GFSI doesn't certify anyone itself: it benchmarks food safety certification programmes against its requirements, and retailers worldwide accept certificates from the programmes it recognizes.
Source: GFSI: Global Food Safety Initiative (opens in a new tab)
The ones you're most likely to meet in Canadian manufacturing are SQF, BRCGS and FSSC 22000, with IFS, CanadaGAP, GLOBALG.A.P. and PrimusGFS common for other parts of the supply chain. Recognition depends on the scope, so check GFSI's current list for your sector.
Source: GFSI: Global Food Safety Initiative (opens in a new tab)
No. HACCP is a method for controlling hazards. GFSI-recognized schemes require a HACCP-based food safety plan and add a full management system around it: prerequisite programs, management commitment, food safety culture, supplier approval, internal audits, and more.
SQF and FSSC 22000 are both GFSI-recognized certification programmes, as is BRCGS. None of them is GFSI itself: they're separate schemes that GFSI has benchmarked.
Source: GFSI: Global Food Safety Initiative (opens in a new tab)
Both are GFSI-recognized and cover similar ground. SQF, owned by FMI in the US, is widely used in North America and requires a trained SQF practitioner on site. BRCGS, which started in the UK, is more prescriptive in places and grades sites from AA to D based on the number and severity of nonconformities. Which suits you usually depends on what your customers ask for.
Source: SQFI: Safe Quality Food Institute (opens in a new tab)
FSSC 22000 is built on the ISO 22000 management-system standard plus sector prerequisite programmes and FSSC's own additional requirements, so it suits businesses that already work with ISO systems. SQF is a single code written for food businesses. Both are GFSI-recognized.
Neither is better in general. Choose the scheme your key customers accept or prefer, then consider fit: BRCGS sets out detailed requirements clause by clause, while FSSC 22000 follows the ISO management-system structure. Many sites ask their largest customer first.
ISO 22000 is the management-system standard. FSSC 22000 combines ISO 22000 with technical prerequisite-programme specifications and additional FSSC requirements. That combination is what GFSI recognizes; ISO 22000 on its own isn't GFSI-recognized.
There isn't one best scheme. Canadian retailers and food-service buyers generally accept GFSI-recognized certificates, so the right choice depends on your customers, your sector and your markets. Primary producers of fruit and vegetables often use CanadaGAP; manufacturers most often choose SQF, BRCGS or FSSC 22000.
In outline: decide the scope and the SQF code that applies, register with SQFI, appoint and train an SQF practitioner, implement and document the system, run internal audits, then book a licensed certification body. The first certification is a desk audit of your documents followed by an audit on site.
Check my audit readiness Source: SQFI: Safe Quality Food Institute (opens in a new tab)
Implement the system, choose a licensed certification body, and go through a two-stage initial audit: stage 1 checks your readiness and documents, and stage 2 assesses implementation on site. Surveillance audits follow, including unannounced audits within each certification cycle.
It depends on where you start. A site with working HACCP, prerequisite programs and records is much closer than one starting from scratch. Allow time for records to build up and for at least one internal audit before the certification audit; most certification bodies also need booking ahead.
The certification body's audit fees depend on the scheme, the size and complexity of the site, the number of audit days and travel. On top of that come scheme registration fees, any training, and the internal time or outside help needed to get ready. Ask two or three certification bodies for quotes for your scope.
It's an audit by a BRCGS-approved certification body against the BRCGS standard for your sector. Sites are graded from AA to D depending on the number and severity of nonconformities; sites that choose unannounced audits get a plus (for example AA+).
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. The certification decision belongs to the certification body. A consultant can make sure you know what the auditor will look for and that your system and records can show it.
General information, reviewed 2026-10-28. It isn't legal advice or a determination for your business; what applies depends on your products, activities and markets.
Related solution: Audit readiness
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