An SQFI Select Site is a site that forgo the three-year certification cycle requirement and voluntarily elects to have annual
unannounced re-certification audits.
Transparency is the new black. Meaning, everyone wants to look good in it! However, being transparent about your food safety and quality processes isn’t something that is achieved overnight. If truth and candor were systematic in corporate practice and in the regulatory protocols, your buyer could make informed decisions about purchasing your product. It takes a strong food safety culture followed by effective training and engaging communication, to tell the story to your stakeholders that you’re committed to food safety.
By volunteering in the SQFI Select Site program, it communicates to your stakeholders that you are committed to food safety and the transparency of your processes.
It’s essential to be audit-ready. Hence the phrase: “Being audit ready all the time.” In fact, good food safety and quality practices should be adhered to and practiced on a consistent basis. Not just when your auditor or inspector is scheduled to arrive. We have created a program that takes suppliers to the next level of commitment and readiness, The SQFI Select Site program.
It’s important to start thinking about participating in the program. Sites may continue their annual announced recertification audit schedule or, new under SQF Edition 8, may choose to participate in an annual unannounced audit which, upon successful completion, will designate the facility an SQFI Select Site.
With the release of Edition 10, SQF Unites 2026 is the perfect place for the food safety community to collaborate, ask questions, and learn from the experts who shaped the Code.
The Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI) is proud to recognize six outstanding professionals as finalists for the 2026 SQF Excellence Awards, with our presenting partner, Exemplar Global.
In early March, SQFI will release the SQF Edition 10 Code, marking an important evolution of the program shaped by extensive industry input.