It is 2007, Happy New Year! The GMA-SAFE Team believes we now have a complete standards package to meet all your auditing needs. In 2006, the SAFE Team brought you the latest Microsoft technology. We also developed a Customer Web Interface that will allow customers of the audit to manage and score audits, search for new suppliers and electronically request a SAFE Audit from their suppliers all from one secure web location. Lastly, the SAFE Team created an audit that we are calling GMA-SAFE Express. This audit was created as an off-year audit to reward suppliers who did well on the previous year’s full audit. Furthermore, this audit can also be utilized in small facilities that may not have all the documentation that the Full Audit expects. Moreover, it may be utilized in unsophisticated facilities to aid them into eventually having a Full SAFE Audit.

GMA-SAFE now has six Full Audits, the standard-bearer Full Audit, the Dairy Full Audit, the Spice Full Audit, the Packaging Full Audit, the Warehouse & Distribution Center Full Audit, and the Aseptic Full Audit. The named Full Audits were all created from the standard-bearer audit and were tailored to the specific commodity that is mentioned in the title. All audits to include the GMA-SAFE Express can be scored according to the scoring template a company has already created for itself and will be available on the Customer Web Interface site.

The GMA-SAFE Team implemented the “Standards Owner” business plan that was agreed to within the association. Currently, ten SAFE Qualified Auditing Firms (SQAFs) are performing the audits for SAFE. They are AIB, ASI, Cook & Thurber, DNV, Guelph, NAFSA, Randolph and Associates, RQA, Seacrest and Silliker. Additionally, two more companies have shown interest in becoming SQAFs in 2007, SGS and Intertek. Another part of the business plan is to allow non-members to actively participate on the GMA-SAFE Operation Committee. Accepting non-members brought SAFE needed insight from companies such as Safeway, Darden Restaurants, Sysco, Costco, Wrigley, Alcan and Bemis/Miliprint. Moreover, GMA allowed five of the SQAFs to also participate on this important committee. They are AIB, Cooke & Thurber, Seacrest, DNV and RQA Asia (DNV and RQA Asia representing philosophies from Europe and Asia). Lastly, SAFE wishes to incorporate more food companies that are situated outside of North America. One such company that was added to the Operation Committee was Nutrinova, from Germany.

Yes, 2007 is going to be an excellent year within the GMA-SAFE program. With the addition of 18 new customers in 2006 that have agreed to accept a SAFE Audit, GMA-SAFE is rapidly becoming recognized as the one standard that can meet the needs of multiple customer companies, from all parts of the food chain.

With the GMA/FPA merger now completed, GMA/FPA is the largest trade association representing the food and beverage industries in the world. With that position comes responsibility and GMA-SAFE, a division within GMA/FPA, takes that responsibility very seriously. If you wish to receive more information regarding the GMA-SAFE program, please contact Bruce Becker, Director of Sales and Marketing at 202-637-4808.

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