SAFE QUALITY FOOD
The SQF CODE program
It is a Food Quality and Safety standard, developed by the US Food Marketing Institute. It defines the specific requirements for food safety, legality and quality that must be met by all companies involved in the food chain.
The SQF program is addressed to:
The SQF Code is addressed to all food chain companies including service providers, subcontractors and equipment suppliers, cleaners, packaging material suppliers or other materials that may come into contact with food. The SQF Code is mainly suitable for companies that export their products or supply large supermarket chains. In Greece, the SQF system is not widespread, and companies choose it to meet the requirements of specific customers. It is addressed to companies that have export activity, mainly in Australia and the USA.
The program consists of:
- SQF 1000, for primary production
- SQF 2000, for secondary production: Food production, processing, and distribution companies
The requirements of the standard, depending on the extent of compliance that each company wishes to achieve, are divided into 3 levels.
1st level: Basic Principles of Food Safety
2nd level: It includes the requirements of the 1st level and sets the criteria for the development of a plan
3rd level: It includes the requirements of the 1st and 2nd level as well as additional criteria for conducting a risk analysis to prevent the production of quality defective products
Each level is designed to indicate the level of development of the supplier’s safety and quality management system. Level 2 has been recognized by the GFSI (Global Food Safety Institute) as equivalent to the respective systems BRC, IFS, FSSC 22000.
Benefits of applying the standard:
- It reduces the cost of using multiple standards
- It ensures the quality of the product and consequently the satisfaction and trust of the customers due to the production of safe products
- It improves the image of the company to all members (staff, customers)
- It covers special customer requirements