Why is Food Safety Important to Sysco ?
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Protect the Public
Protect our Customers
Protect our Company and its partner-suppliers
Protect the image and integrity of the food industry
Sysco Quality Assurance
Sysco has always had extensive produce quality assurance and has
been a leader in developing food safety programs for Sysco Brand
Produce:
•Facility Food Safety audits
•Daily Field Inspections
•Plant Visits
•Traceability
•GAP audits/verification have been cornerstone activities for Sysco
Quality Assurance.
Continuous Improvement
To further assure food safety, Sysco Quality Assurance introduced an
unprecedented food safety program:
Sysco GAP
The program focuses efforts in three areas:
– Role/position of supplier in supply chain
– Good Agricultural Practices
– Traceability for all master containers
Sysco Corporation Expectations for Suppliers of Ready to Eat Produce
•Each local grower to have an approved GAP audit for each farm used to
supply Sysco Operating Companies (Amish Farms in KS)
•Audits uploaded into Sysco GAP database
•Traceability on all master containers, regardless of brand or label
•Specific water quality and equipment sanitation standards
•Complete supplier survey
•Full enterprise-wide enforcement last half of CY 2011
Why GAP audits?
• GAP audits verify the basic food safety principles are implemented in the
growing and handling of fresh produce
• GAP’s address food safety proactively.
• GAP audits provide greater impact than micro testing, reactive
• Third-party GAP and harvest crew audits provide the means to move the
industry beyond the Letter of Guaranty.
What is Sysco GAP?
Sysco GAP is a web-based database that will allow Sysco QA to capture,
document, and monitor supplier compliance. The database will ultimately
contain a list of approved suppliers from which Sysco and FreshPoint
Operating Companies will be authorized to purchase ready to eat (RTE)
produce products.
•Complex data and reporting
Azzule to manage the data system.
What is Ready To Eat produce (RTE)?
 Ready-to-eat produce is described as any fresh produce, processed or
field packed, that consumed it’s existing condition.
 Examples include: leafy vegetables, berries, tomatoes, celery, cole
crops, green onions and herbs etc.
 Excluded products include: asparagus, corn, potatoes, onions, carrots
and any type of deciduous fruit/tree/nut crop .
Independent Audit Requirements
Each audit will demonstrate 100% compliance for those questions that
comprise the Critical Food Safety section of the audit and 85% compliance
on all other sections/questions.
Approved 3rd Party Auditors are:
AIB International , NSF, Primuslabs.com, Scientific Certification Systems, Inc.,
Silliker, Inc., Global GAP, SQF 1000, Guelph Tech
USDA (Expected)
* Audits are valid for 18 months
Questions?