GFSI does not certify anyone: it recognises standards. A GFSI certification is an IFS, BRCGS, FSSC 22000 or SQF certification, accepted by retailers worldwide. What it involves, and what it requires from your suppliers.
By Gautier VeyssetIndustry specialist writer at Tracklab · LinkedInUpdated 13 Nov 2026Reading time 9 minGFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) is an initiative of The Consumer Goods Forum that brings together food retailers and manufacturers. Its purpose: to harmonise food safety requirements worldwide, so that a manufacturer does not face a different audit for each of its customers.
To do so, GFSI publishes Benchmarking Requirements, first created in 2001 by a group of retailers and regularly revised. The current version is version 2024. Certification programme owners (CPOs) have their standard assessed against these requirements; if it complies, it is "GFSI-recognised".
GFSI is neither a standard nor a certification body. A company cannot be audited or certified directly against the GFSI requirements: it gets certified against a GFSI-recognised standard.
"GFSI certification" is a common shorthand. It refers to a certification issued against one of the GFSI-recognised standards, by an accredited certification body. A valid IFS Food or BRCGS Food Safety certificate is therefore, in practice, a GFSI certification.
The benefit for a manufacturer lies in mutual recognition: member retailers in principle accept a certificate from any recognised standard, which limits the number of customer audits.
GFSI assesses standards; the audit and the certificate are the certification body's responsibility.
Twelve certification programme owners are recognised by GFSI. Each is recognised for specific scopes (farming, processing, packaging, storage and distribution, brokerage…). The main ones for the European food industry:
| Programme owner | Standards and versions submitted to GFSI | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| IFS | IFS Food v8, IFS Broker v3.2, IFS Logistics v3, IFS PACsecure v3 | Processors, brokers, logistics providers, packaging, widely used in France and Germany |
| BRCGS | Food Safety issue 9, Agents & Brokers issue 3, Packaging Materials issue 7, Storage & Distribution issue 4 | Processors, brokers, packaging, logistics, widely used in the UK |
| FSSC 22000 | FSSC 22000 version 7 (ISO 22000, prerequisite programmes and additional requirements) | Companies used to ISO management systems, including packaging and ingredients |
| SQF | SQF Food Safety, edition 10 | Mainly the North American market |
| Primary production | GLOBALG.A.P., PrimusGFS, CanadaGAP, Freshcare, Global Red Meat Standard, Global Seafood Alliance | Farms, fresh produce packing, meat, seafood |
| Others | JFS-C (Japan), GRMA | Specific markets and scopes |
"Once certified, recognised everywhere."GFSI recognition motto · mygfsi.com, accessed November 2026
ISO 22000 on its own is not recognised by GFSI. FSSC 22000, which adds prerequisite programmes and specific requirements to ISO 22000, is. An ISO 22000 certificate therefore does not usually meet a customer requirement for "GFSI certification".
Comparing these standards based on your activity, customers and markets is an exercise in itself: we cover it in our article which GFSI certification to choose.
GFSI has published version 2024 of its Benchmarking Requirements, and standards must be reassessed against it. To date, CanadaGAP and JFS-C are recognised against version 2024; IFS, BRCGS, FSSC 22000, SQF and the others are undergoing benchmarking, and remain recognised against version 2020 in the meantime.
For a certified manufacturer, nothing changes in the short term: the certificate remains valid. However, the standard revisions that come with these assessments (new versions, new requirements) then feed through into audits.
Whatever the standard, a GFSI-recognised certification rests on a common foundation: a HACCP plan, a documented food safety management system, prerequisite programmes (hygiene, maintenance, pest control, allergens), traceability, incident and recall management, and food safety culture.
One point is common to every standard and often underestimated: supplier control. Each standard requires a risk-based supplier approval procedure, monitoring of supplier performance and up-to-date evidence: certificates, specifications, declarations, test results.
| Supplier requirement | What the auditor checks |
|---|---|
| Risk-based approval | A documented assessment of each supplier and raw material |
| Certificates and evidence | Valid certificates, with the right scope, and expiry tracking |
| Specifications | Up-to-date, approved specifications for each raw material |
| Performance monitoring | Non-conformities, complaints and corrective actions recorded |
| Brokers and intermediaries | Information on the original manufacturer, not only on the broker |
Tracklab collects and checks your suppliers' documents (certificates, specifications, declarations), tracks expiry dates and sends reminders automatically. On audit day, every piece of evidence is up to date and found in seconds.
For the two standards most requested in France, see our dedicated pages: IFS certification and BRC certification.
Our dedicated pages on the GFSI-recognised standards most requested in France.
IFS Food, Broker, Logistics: requirements, audit and supplier evidence.
Discover Managed serviceBRC certificationBRCGS Food Safety, Packaging, Agents & Brokers: audit and follow-up.
Discover ArticleWhich GFSI certification to chooseIFS, BRCGS and FSSC 22000 compared, with a decision grid.
ReadGFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) is an initiative of The Consumer Goods Forum, which brings together retailers and manufacturers. It sets Benchmarking Requirements and recognises the food safety certification standards that meet them, such as IFS, BRCGS or FSSC 22000.
No. GFSI does not certify companies, and its requirements are not an audit standard. A company obtains a "GFSI certification" by getting certified against a GFSI-recognised standard, through an accredited certification body.
Twelve certification programme owners are recognised, including IFS, BRCGS, FSSC 22000, SQF, GLOBALG.A.P. and PrimusGFS. Each is recognised for specific scopes: processing, packaging, storage and distribution, brokerage or primary production.
No, ISO 22000 on its own is not. FSSC 22000, which combines ISO 22000, prerequisite programmes and additional requirements, is recognised by GFSI.
IFS is a certification standard, with its own requirements and audits. GFSI is the initiative that assesses and recognises standards such as IFS. An IFS Food certificate is therefore a GFSI-recognised certification.
Official sources accessed in November 2026.
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