GFSI Feed Technical Working Group - Draft Feed Requirements for Stakeholder Comment

Thank you for taking the time to comment on the draft requirements for the Single Ingredient and Compound Feed scope covering:
•    Feed Safety Management
•    Good Manufacturing Practices
•    HACCP Based Systems
•    Auditor Competence Requirements.

You have until 27th January 2012 to send us your comments.

In order to submit your comments, please read the summary of the work carried out to date below, download the comments form, and send your completed form to India Roger ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Summary

These requirements have been drafted by the GFSI Feed Working Group chaired by Charles Stark, Assistant Professor and Feed Mill Specialist at North Carolina State University. This Technical Working Group was mandated to define and develop the key elements that shall be in place for the recognition of Single Ingredient and Compound Feed schemes by the GFSI in the GFSI Guidance Document Sixth Edition. The role of this group is not to develop a new scheme.

Each scope of recognition covered by the GFSI Guidance Document (see below for full list) has a defined set of requirements which it is expected to have in place in order to be successfully benchmarked by GFSI. The GFSI Benchmarking Process is a process by which food safety schemes are objectively compared to the defined requirements in the GFSI Guidance Document Sixth Edition in order to determine equivalence.

Next Steps

All comments will be reviewed by the Technical Working Group in February and submitted to the GFSI Board for approval. Following GFSI Board validation, the requirements for the Single Ingredient and Compound Feed sector will be incorporated into the GFSI Guidance Document and published.

Background on the GFSI Scopes of Recognition

The scope of the Guidance Document Sixth Edition published in January 2011 will ultimately cover the whole of the food and feed supply chain and associated services. The current version of the GFSI Guidance Document covers the following scopes of recognition:
AI Farming of Animals
AII AII Farming of Fish
BI Farming of Plants
BII Farming of Grains and Pulses
C Animal Conversion (included in August 2011)
D Pre Processing Handling of Plant Products
EI Processing of Animal Perishable Products
EII Processing of Plant Perishable Products
EIII Processing of Animal and Plant Perishable Products (Mixed Products)
EIV Processing of Ambient Stable Products
L Production of (Bio) Chemicals
M Production of Food Packaging (included in August 2011)

The GFSI Guidance Document specifies the process by which food safety schemes may gain recognition (GFSI Guidance Document, Part I – The Benchmarking Process) and gives guidance to schemes seeking compliance. It also specifies the minimum requirements to be put in place for a food safety scheme seeking recognition by GFSI (GFSI Guidance Document, Part II – Requirements for the Management of Schemes) and the key elements for production of safe food (GFSI Guidance Document, Part III – Scheme Scope and Key Elements). It is not a new standard or scheme but aims at allowing for greater convergence and confidence among schemes and related certifications.