Product knowledge
What Food Safety Certifications Should Suppliers Have?
At minimum, a food supplier operating in Canada needs a valid Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence with a written preventive control plan on file — that's the legal baseline CFIA requires, not an optional extra. Beyond that regulatory floor, many established importers and manufacturers also carry a private certification recognized under the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), such as BRCGS, SQF or FSSC 22000, which adds independent third-party audit on top of the government licence.
The two aren't interchangeable: the SFC licence is a legal requirement to operate, while a GFSI-recognized certification is a voluntary standard many buyers use as an additional trust signal, especially for larger retail or foodservice accounts. Knowing the difference helps a buyer ask the right question of a supplier instead of a vague one.
The regulatory baseline: an SFC licence
Any business importing food into Canada needs a Safe Food for Canadians licence before the shipment reaches the border, and that licence requires a written preventive control plan (PCP) covering hazard identification and control, plus one-step-forward, one-step-back traceability records. What does CFIA require of food importers beyond the licence? covers this in more depth — it's the first and most basic thing worth confirming a supplier holds, since operating without it isn't a grey area, it's a licensing requirement.
GFSI-recognized schemes, in plain terms
The Global Food Safety Initiative doesn't run its own certification — it benchmarks and recognizes other private standards, and a facility "GFSI-certified" typically means it holds one of those recognized schemes rather than a single universal "GFSI" credential.
- BRCGS (Brand Reputation through Compliance) — a widely used British-origin standard, common across European and Middle Eastern food manufacturers.
- SQF (Safe Quality Food) — a North American-developed scheme, frequently requested by large US and Canadian retail and foodservice buyers.
- FSSC 22000 — built on the ISO 22000 management-systems framework, common among larger international manufacturers.
- IFS (International Featured Standards) — a European retailer-driven standard, seen more often on products destined for EU markets.
What to actually ask a supplier for
Rather than asking a generic "are you certified," a more useful question names the specific document: a current SFC licence number, a copy of the facility's most recent GFSI-recognized audit certificate if one exists, and — for a specific product — a certificate of analysis or spec sheet covering that lot. A supplier with nothing beyond a vague verbal assurance, no licence number and no audit paperwork on request is worth treating with the same caution as an unusually cheap, unnamed spice source — legitimate certification is documented, not just claimed.
Why this matters more for some buyers than others
A small independent café sourcing modest volumes has a different risk profile than a chain buying at scale or a retailer stocking a private-label line — the second group is far more likely to need a supplier carrying formal GFSI-recognized certification as a condition of doing business, since their own downstream customers or head office will ask for it. For most GTA wholesale buyers, confirming a supplier's SFC licence status and asking whether a specific product has a certificate of analysis available covers the practical need without requiring every supplier relationship to clear the higher bar of a full GFSI audit.
Related questions
Is a Safe Food for Canadians licence the same as GFSI certification?
No. The SFC licence is a legal requirement to import food into Canada; GFSI-recognized schemes like BRCGS or SQF are voluntary private certifications many suppliers add on top of that legal baseline, not a substitute for it.
Do I need to ask every small supplier for a GFSI certificate?
Not necessarily. It's more common to require for large retail or private-label accounts. For most wholesale buying, confirming a valid SFC licence and asking whether a spec sheet or certificate of analysis is available for a specific product covers the practical need.
Can a supplier operate legally without any certification at all?
Not in Canada — importing food requires an SFC licence at minimum; that part isn't optional. GFSI-recognized certification beyond the licence is the voluntary layer, not the required one.