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Global Food Safety Initiative Audits
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Article Content
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NEW! Statewide Outreach Opportunities
During the spring of 2013, we will be conducting outreach sessions throughout Oregon. These sessions will be geared towards growers that have already been involved with USDA GAP and/or GlobalGAP, growers looking to incorporate GlobalGAP into a USDA GAP certified operation, and those interested in pursuing either of these audits for the first time. Recent announcements from the FDA concerning the Food Safety Modernization Act will also be discussed in relation to our programs. Certification specialists will be present to answer your questions and provide the perspective of the auditor. We encourage all program participants to attend these sessions as they will be provided free of cost to all attendees.
Hermiston - March 8th
Time: 8am-2pm
Hood River - April 10th
Time: 8am-12pm
Please check back for additional locations TBD.
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| Oregon Department of Agriculture and NCSI Americas, Inc. |
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In order to meet industry demand for food safety certifications, Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) has partnered with NCSI Americas, Inc. to provide GFSI-benchmarked audits. ODA auditing and inspection services can potentially be bundled as a cost-saving measure.
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| What is GFSI? |
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The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a non-profit foundation developed in Belgium in 2000 for the purposes of unifying and benchmarking food safety standards. The standards that meet the GFSI benchmarking requirements are often required by major retailers as evidence of food safety practices implemented by their suppliers
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| The Benefits of GFSI certification |
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Third party certifications provide customers confidence in the claims made about a product. In the case of GFSI audits, buyers can be assured that the products they are purchasing come from a farm or facility with comprehensive food safety practices in place. Most major retailers have specific certifications they require of their suppliers. Contact your buyers for their requirements or contact the Oregon Department of Agriculture Commodity Inspection Division for assistance.
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| Certifications Available |
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Of the GFSI-recognized schemes, Oregon Department of Agriculture provides:
GlobalG.A.P. (Integrated Farm Assurance)
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Appropriate for individual producers (Option 1) or grower groups (Option 2 69KB pdf)
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Can include field packing and produce handling components
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Can include a Quality Management System component
- Checklist and Criteria:
- Producers requiring GlobalG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance certification will be audited against All Farm Base, Crops Base, and Fruit and Vegetables Base
PrimusGFS - One audit can encompass both farm and processing operations
- Most similar to USDA GAP & GHP audits in criteria and scoring
- Checklists and Criteria:
- Producers will be audited against the FSMS and GAP modules
- Processors will be audited against the FSMS, GMP, and HACCP modules
SQF
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Available for producers and processors
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Three levels of certification are available
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Food Safety Fundamentals
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Certified HACCP Food Safety Plans
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Comprehensive Food Safety and Quality Management Systems
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Each level builds upon the previous level with Level 2 and Level 3 benchmarked for GFSI recognition
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| Application process |
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It is advisable to become familiar with buyer certification requirements (if applicable) to determine the standard you wish to audit to, and then prepare your operation a year in advance. The actual time needed may vary based on the infrastructure of the food safety program already in place on the farm or in the facility requiring certification. Standards can be found at their respective websites as indicated on the "Additional Resources" sidebar on the right.
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| Fees |
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$300 Certification fee (per certificate or per site, if sites are on separate certificates)
Annual fee payable to NCSI Americas, Inc. (varies by standard)
$92 per audit hour, 4 hour required minimum (includes administrative time, review time, inspection, and travel time, etc.)
Travel costs: Mileage, lodging, and per diem as required for inspections billed at rates established by Oregon Department of Administrative Services.
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| Application forms |
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Please submit the following form for certification services:
GFSI Audit Services Application
Please email all completed forms to gfsi@oda.state.or.us
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| Updates |
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Beginning July 1, 2012, SQF 1000 and SQF 2000 will be merged into a single standard simply called SQF. See the SQF website for more information on these changes.
- Beginning January 1, 2013, all applicants receiving a GFSI-benchmarked audit for Costco must also meet the requirements of the Costco Addendum.
Costco Produce Growing Area Audit Addendum
Costco Produce Harvest Crew Audit Addendum
Costco Produce Facility Audit Addendum
If you have any questions about applying for a GFSI benchmarked certification, please call the ODA GFSI Certification Program at (503) 986-4620 or email gfsi@oda.state.or.us.
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