Growers face challenges everyday: climate change, labor shortages and supply chain issues to name a few. Growing our food is an art and a science, requiring dedication and passion from each farm and its farmer. Since Equitable Food Initiative’s (EFI) inception, it has been the organization’s goal not to become another check box on a grower’s to do list, but rather a vehicle to consolidate the requirements that growers are held to.
EFI has recently announced their benchmarking with the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), ushering in a new era of consolidation. GFSI became the gold standard of food safety over 20 years ago, mitigating high-profile food recalls. GFSI provided the retail community a necessary level of safety and quality. EFI’s certification has always
had the highest food safety standards, but by being GFSI recognized, EFI has taken the next step retail requirement consolidation.
Today’s shopper values a sustainable, responsibly grown, and safe product. With 70% of consumers wanting companies to address important social issues and a staggering 9 out 10 consumers purchasing products based on a company supporting an issue they care about, it’s imperative that responsibly grown, sustainable and gold-standard food safety go hand in hand.
EFI’s certification was already accepted by major retailers across the nation for both responsible sourcing and pollinator health/integrated pest management. However, GFSI was an additional layer of security retailers require that growers had to look outside of EFI to achieve. Now with GFSI brought into the fold for EFI’s certification, growers can also tick their GFSI requirement with a single audit.
“Being benchmarked to GFSI is a tremendous step for our organization. In addition to the external validation of EFI’s food safety program, the recognition allows our certified fresh produce growers to demonstrate their industry-leading practices as implemented and enforced by an engaged workforce.” – Kenton Harmer
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Interested in consolidating audits at your company? Click here to learn more. If you’re ready to find out how EFI would impact your audit fatigue, click here to schedule a free one-on-one consultation.
