Which food safety certifications do U.S. retailers require from suppliers?

Many large buyers ask for a GFSI-recognized certification, such as SQF, BRCGS or FSSC 22000. GFSI does not certify plants: it recognizes certification programs, and a plant gets certified through a third-party audit against one of them.

GFSI's list of recognized programs includes, among others, SQF Edition 9 (level 2), the BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety Issue 9, FSSC 22000 version 6, IFS Food version 8 and PrimusGFS version 3.2; recognition is by scope, so confirm the one that fits your operation. Walmart, for example, publishes requirements for its operations in the United States and Puerto Rico. For private brands, every site that manufactures or processes the product must be certified or assessed to a GFSI-recognized standard and keep that certification every year. For national brands, it requires an approved annual audit, encourages GFSI certification and does not accept federal, state or local regulatory inspections in place of the audit. Before you invest in a certification, ask your buyer which ones they accept.