SQFI

SQFI Info Sheets

SQF Code: Food Safety Services

Strengthen Your Services. Support Food Safety. Build Customer Confidence.

The SQF Food Safety Services Code gives food safety service providers, a GFSI-recognized framework to prove their work protects food safety across the supply chain.

Benefits

  • Win more business with certified facilities that now require proof from every vendor touching their supply chain.
  • Stand apart from competitors that can't document a consistent food safety system.
  • Cut liability with a documented risk management plan, traceability system, and corrective action procedures.
  • Earn buyer trust through a GFSI-recognized credential backed by third-party audits.
  • Sharpen internal operations with clearer procedures, training records, and audit readiness.

Eligibility

Organizations that deliver services at a customer's site or from their own facility qualify when that work affects food safety. Eligible service types include:

  • Temporary labor and staffing agencies
  • Metal detector calibration services
  • Maintenance contractors
  • Laundry services
  • Pest control operators
  • Chemical management services
  • Contract cleaning companies
  • Hygiene product management providers

Catering, agents and brokers, and storage and distribution services fall under separate SQF Codes and aren't eligible under this one.

Costs

  • Registration Fee: Billed at initial sign-up and annual renewal, on SQFI's standard per-site fee scale. 
  • Certification Body Audit Fees: Vary by company size, service complexity, and location.

Steps to Certification

  1. Learn more about the Code and confirm your services fall within the scope
  2. Register on the SQF Assessment Database and designate a qualified SQF Practitioner
  3. Document and implement your SQF system, including a risk management plan, traceability procedures, and staff training.
  4. Select an SQFI-licensed certification body and complete your initial audit. 
  5. Close out any non-conformances within 30 days and receive your certificate.
  6. Maintain certification with annual re-certification audits and one unannounced audit every three years.

Training

SQFI recommends the "Implementing SQF Systems" course for SQF Practitioners, offered through licensed training centers or online, along with HACCP or risk management training. Neither is mandatory, but both shorten the path to a clean first audit.

Get Started

Start at sqfi.com with the Code Selector tool to confirm your service type falls within scope, then register on the SQF Assessment Database. Questions about eligibility or the audit process go to SQFI's Customer Service team at info@sqfi.com.

Access the full SQF Food Safety Services Code.

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