ECR AP - GS1 Hong Kong Supply Chain Management

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Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI): Facilitating
Cross-Industry Collaboration on a
Global Scale
The Global Food Safety Initiative unites global and local food
companies to collaborate on food safety issues that have relevance
for the entire industry. Food safety experts from retailer,
manufacturer and food service companies, service providers, international
organizations, academia and government who truly
believe that food safety is a non-competitive issue meet together
throughout the year. Their joint vision is to effectively manage
food safety to ultimately ensure confidence in the delivery of safe
food to consumers worldwide.
The GFSI Board of Directors, whose companies represent €1200
billion of turnover annually, is responsible for defining the strategic
direction of the initiative. Under their leadership, GFSI has
become a globally recognized initiative whose approach to managing
food safety is accepted by regulatory authorities in numerous
countries and supported by companies the world over. GFSI
works to bridge the gap between the public and private sector,
convening multi-stakeholder Technical Working Groups so that
approaches taken to industry-wide food safety issues incorporate
all stakeholder standpoints.
Collaboration across sectors and geographies is key to the success
of the Global Food Safety Initiative, and collaboration between
regulatory bodies and the agribusiness sector has been particularly
strengthened over the past few years. The GFSI Guidance Document,
steeped in the science-based principles of Codex, provides
a consistent foundation upon which to develop documentation
that raises the bar among food safety management schemes and
drives harmonisation in their requirements. GFSI is currently
engaging government bodies in its work on auditor competence,
driving improvement in the third party certification process to
provide reliable audits that a global industry can rely on. The
GFSI Global Markets Programme, aimed at small and/or less
developed businesses, helps them in developing effective food
safety management systems through a systematic continuous improvement
process. The programme has been particularly effective
in demonstrating the private sector’s commitment to smaller
suppliers, applauded by international organisations who in the
past have seen the food industry’s stringent requirements as a
barrier to market entry for these businesses.
The GFSI Board is composed of companies from all over the
world, and is fortunate to have the representation of two eminent
Chinese companies, China Resources Vanguard and COFCO.
These companies, as well as numerous other Chinese companies
and organisations, are also represented on the GFSI Technical
Working Groups. The Certification and Accreditation Administration
of the People's Republic of China (CNCA) is an honoured
member of the GFSI Advisory Council, a body of experts
providing perspectives on the implementation of GFSI’s strategic
objectives.
GFSI is further collaborating with China on its benchmarking
process, has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with CNCA on collaboration on food safety and will sign a second
MoU with the China Certification & Accreditation Institute
(CCAI) so that GFSI can proceed with the benchmarking of the
Chinese Food Safety HACCP scheme.
GFSI has been developing awareness among local industry players
through the GFSI Roadshow in partnership with CCFA’s
(China Chain Store & Franchise Association) annual Food Safety
Conference since 2008. GFSI is also represented at leading food
safety events in China such as the China International Food Safety
& Quality (CIFSQ) Conference and the Food Safety Peak Forum
among others. Representatives from AQSIQ, CNCA,
COFCO and China Resources Vanguard attend the annual Global
Food Safety Conference on a regular basis, where the interest of
Chinese companies in the GFSI activities is growing.
A GFSI Food Safety workshop taking place on 28th March during
the 18th Franco-Chinese Economic Forum (organised by
CCPIT, CFC and DRC) and co-hosted with the Danone Group,
will highlight that a modern food supply network in a global
economy requires further collaboration by all food safety stakeholders.
This is particularly pertinent to the Chinese marketplace
in light of the fact that China is one of the world’s most important
countries in terms of food consumption, as well as one of the
worldwide leaders in food imports and exports. Feeding a growing
population whilst maintaining a safe food supply chain will
be a challenge, but a united food industry can meet this challenge
head on.
Aiming to strengthen communication and coordination with top
food safety regulators and key industry players in China, GFSI is
looking to work together with all Chinese stakeholders to improve
Chinese consumer confidence in food safety.
GLOBAL FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVE
The GFSI, managed by The Consumer Goods Forum, was set up
in 2000 to pursue continuous improvement in food safety management
systems, cost efficiency in the supply chain and, above
all, safe food for consumers worldwide.
For more information, please visit www.mygfsi.com
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