SQF Code Glossary

Approval by an Accreditation Body that is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and a signatory to the Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA) confirming that the management system of a certification body complies with the ISO/IEC 17065:2012 (or subsequent version) and the Criteria for SQF Certification Bodies requirements and that the certification body is suitable to be granted a license by SQFI to provide the service in the licensed territory(ies).

A space which permits the passage of people between one environment and another with two doors in series which do not open simultaneously, and thus minimizes the transfer of pests, dust, odors, or air from one area to the other.

Typically, naturally occurring proteins in foods or derivatives of them that cause abnormal immune responses.

A systematic, independent, and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which audit criteria are fulfilled. In the context of SQF, this refers to the evaluation of a site's food safety and/or quality management system against the SQF Code requirements.

An entity which has entered into a license agreement with the SQFI authorizing it to certify a site's SQF System in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17065:2012 (or subsequent version) and the Criteria for SQF Certification Bodies.

A specific action aimed to improve performance or outcome that is based on a root cause analysis with the intent to eliminate the cause of a non-conformity and prevent its recurrence.

A systematic preventive approach to food safety that identifies physical, chemical, and biological hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe, and designs measurements to reduce these risks to a safe level.

A failure to meet a specified requirement. In SQF audits, non-conformities are classified as minor, major, or critical based on their potential impact on food safety or quality.

Risk-based, reasonably appropriate procedures, practices, and processes that a person knowledgeable about the safe manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding of food would employ to significantly minimize or prevent the hazards identified.

The collection and utilization of scientific, technical, and food safety management system data and information to determine the food safety requirement(s) to ensure the food safety plan and other preventive controls are effectively controlling food safety hazards as intended when the plan is properly implemented.