SQF Edition 8: What To Expect

By Lance Schultz, Quality Programs Facilitator, JD Smith & Sons Ltd.

SQF has gone through many changes to keep up with industry standards and the benchmarking requirements of GFSI. When the eighth edition of SQF comes out next month, will you be ready for it?

SQFI Senior Technical director, LeAnn Chuboff, recently discussed some planned changes to the SQF code and conformed that there will be an eighth edition of it. Release of the eighth edition is planned for Q3 2016 and gives companies a six-month implementation window.

Updates to GFSI-benchmarked schemes are influenced by revisions of GFSI benchmarking platforms. Advancement in technology has also given scheme owners the ability to analyze data, such as recall information and audit stats, to better consider input from stakeholders.

GFSI research has identified food fraud as an issue that needs to be integrated into existing standards. SQF plans to respond by rewriting element 2.7 and address more than site security as part of the food defense program.