Global Food Safety Initiative launches packaging technical working group

Stakeholders at Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) meetings over the last 12 months have expressed growing concern over the need to provide a streamlined, harmonised approach to the food safety requirements which can be found in the plethora of packaging standards existing today in the food industry. As a result, GFSI has launched a new technical working group on packaging.

The Packaging Technical Working Group will have a broad mandate to:
• Review current best practice in relation to the manufacture of food packaging.
• Define and develop the scope(s) of recognition in relation to the food packaging sector and the key elements that shall be in place for the recognition of food saferty requirements within packaging manufacturing schemes by the GFSI in the GFSI Guidance Document Version 6.
• Review and define the competence of auditors required to be in place for schemes applying to the GFSI for recognition within the scope(s) of packaging.
• Review and define the duration of audits in relation to the packaging scope(s) of recognition.
• Provide technical recommendations and advice to the GFSI Board on issues relating to packaging in the food supply chain

Neil Marshall, director, global quality and food safety with The Coca-Cola Co., welcomed the launch of the working group and says, "We recognise the need for an 'end to end supply chain approach' for food safety. The design and manufacture of packaging is a critical and integral part of our business at The Coca-Cola Co. One of the key pillars of our global food safety strategy is build upon requirements for our suppliers to be GFSI certified and so it is vitally important that packaging food safety risks are managed and mitigated using the same science based approach we use for ingredients and manufacturing processes within the supply chain." 

The group will report on progress to the GFSI Board of Directors, who are responsible for driving the strategic direction of the Global Food Safety Initiative. Preliminary results are expected later this year in regard to the development of the scope of recognition for food safety requirements within packaging manufacturing schemes and will be published for public consultation.

Consumer Goods Forum
The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is a global, parity-based industry network, driven by its members. It brings together the CEOs and senior management of more than 650 retailers, manufacturers, service providers and other stakeholders across 70 countries and reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Forum member companies have combined sales of EUR 2.1 trillion. 

The Forum was created in June 2009 by the merger of CIES—The Food Business Forum, the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) and the Global CEO Forum. The Consumer Goods Forum is governed by its Board of Directors, which includes 50 manufacturer and retailer CEOs and chairmen. 

The Forum provides a unique global platform for knowledge exchange and initiatives around five strategic priorities: Emerging Trends, Sustainability, Safety & Health, Operational Excellence and Knowledge Sharing & People Development. These priorities are central to the advancement of today's consumer goods industry. The Consumer Goods Forum is responsible for managing the day to day activities of the Global Food Safety Initiative. 

The Forum's vision is: "Better lives through better business." To fulfil this, its members have given the Forum a mandate to develop common positions on key strategic and operational issues affecting the consumer goods business, with a strong focus on non-competitive process improvement. The Forum's success is driven by the active participation of the key players in the sector, who together develop and lead the implementation of best practices along the value chain.

With its headquarters in Paris and its regional offices in Washington, DC, and Tokyo, the CGF serves its members throughout the world.

For more information, visit www.mygfsi.com.

Source: The Consumer Goods Forum

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