Food safety is not limited to the products moving through your facility. It is also shaped by the services that support your 
operation every day.
From sanitation and pest control to testing, calibration, and equipment maintenance, service providers play a direct role in maintaining safe conditions and protecting product integrity. These activities may sit outside of core production, but their impact on food safety outcomes is immediate and significant.
Yet, expectations for how these services are delivered and managed have not always been defined within a consistent, auditable framework.
While certified sites operate under clearly established food safety requirements, the external services they depend on can vary widely in how they approach risk management, documentation, and performance accountability. This variability can introduce uncertainty into even the most well-developed food safety systems.
The SQF Food Safety Services Code is being developed to address that gap.
The Code establishes clear, risk-based expectations for service providers whose work directly influences food safety. It also brings greater consistency to how these services are evaluated, documented, and managed within the broader food safety system.
For certified sites, this represents a meaningful step forward. It strengthens confidence that the services supporting daily operations are aligned with SQF expectations and are contributing to, not compromising, food safety performance.
For service providers, it offers a framework to demonstrate their role in supporting safe food production and to align their practices with recognized, industry-wide standards.
Now, we are asking for your industry input.
Certified sites and service providers each experience these relationships differently. Sites rely on these services to maintain compliance and operational integrity, while providers are responsible for delivering them effectively in diverse environments. Public commenting ensures the Code reflects both perspectives, remains practical to implement, and addresses real-world challenges.
SQFI invites stakeholders across the food system to review the draft and provide feedback. Your input will help ensure the Code is clear, relevant, and valuable to those who use it every day.
The public comment period is open through May 15.
Now is the time to contribute. Review the draft, share your perspective, and pass it along to your service providers so they can contribute their insights as well.
An SQFI account is required to access the commenting system.
