In an effort to bolster consumer confidence in food supplies, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) recently selected the American National Standards Institute to accredit the certification bodies that audit suppliers under the FMI’s Safe Quality Food program. The agreement is a pilot program aimed at ensuring that certification bodies are independent and free of conflicts of interest, that they employ qualified people, and have proper oversight of the products and processes they are contracted to monitor.

“Accreditation provides the necessary additional oversight of the certification and auditing function,” says Paul Ryan, executive director of the Safe Quality Food Institute, the FMI division that administers the program. “If a food safety certification program is going to have credibility and be internationally recognized, it must have an accreditation component.”

ANSI reports that seven certification bodies have already expressed interest in participating in the Safe Quality Foods program. The program requires suppliers to ensure that products have been produced, prepared, transported, stored and handled according to stringent international standards. SQF certification ensures that suppliers use the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system.

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