TECHNOLOGY

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( GFSI ) was formed in 2000 amidst a profusion of food safety issues that were plaguing the globe . At the turn of the century the big concern was erosion of consumer trust and not just in the food industry and among retailers . There was a waning confidence in government and fears of government oversight so a group of European retailers came together to tackle the problem and develop a structure around food safety management systems which they could drive down through their supply chains to reestablish confidence in the food they were bringing to the customer . That was the genesis of GFSI and over the years it has grown from its core of European retailers becoming more than just a benchmarking organisation to include many different parts of the supply chain such as manufacturers , retailers , food services , agriculture and food processing alongside meat and poultry companies who have joined . “ It ’ s truly a global consortium of companies that covers the entire supply chain from the farm and origination , all the way through to distribution and directly to the consumer ,” explains Mike Robach , Chair of the GFSI ’ s Board of Directors .

Robach has recently presided over the organisation ’ s annual conference . This year , GFSI landed in Tokyo where over 1,200 food

AUGUST 2018