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If you are wondering how to become an SQF Practitioner, you are not alone. There is no shortage of confusion around this question.
There used to be an Certified SQF Practitioner. However, SQF does not certify practitioners or require certification of practitioners. There are 3 requirements that you need to meet to be qualified to be an SQF Practitioner.

1. You must be a full-time employee of the company.
2. You must be trained in HACCP (Look for a course that is HACCP Alliance recognized).
3. You must be trained on and understand the requirements of the SQF code. We recommend The Complete Online Training Package.

Watch our 4-minute video that explains this in more detai:

A person does not actually become certified as a PCQI, although you will see many incorrect references to begin “certified”. Anyone can attend a recognized training course for the Preventive controls qualified individual and meet the training requirements for a PCQI.
There are no prerequisites, although a food safety background is useful. The course will teach you how to prepare a food safety plan that meets the requirements for FSMA. If you attend a recognized course you will receive an AFDO certificate that shows you have successfully completed the training that is required to be a PCQI.
View our upcoming courses and details

What is the difference between ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000?

• ISO 22000 is not recognized by GFSI. (what is GFSI?)
• ISO 22000 is broad in scope.
• FSSC 22000 is recognized by GFSI.
• FSSC has a more limited scope. Current scopes included are: farming, perishable animal products, food processing, feed production, food ingredients and food packaging material manufacturing.

Most companies will benefit by choosing FSSC 22000 and achieving a GFSI recognized certification. This is because many companies require that their suppliers be certified to a GFSI recognized standard. ISO 22000 is not recognized by GFSI.

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DOWNLOAD FREE FSSC 22000 QUICK START GUIDE

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FSSC 22000 is similar to ISO 22000 in that the FSSC 22000 scheme uses ISO 22000 as the requirements for the management system. However, FSSC 22000 includes additional requirements.

ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 Food Safety Standards can be purchased online from Techstreet.com in a printed copy or a downloadable PDF version.
Follow the links below to view more details or purchase.

If you are implementing ISO 22000 you will need:

• ISO 22000:2018 Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the food chain International Organization for Standardization / 01-Sep-2005 / 32 pages.
• and ONE of the following:
  • ISO/TS 22001-1 Prerequisite programmes on food safety – Part 1: Food manufacturing (if you are a food manufacturer/processor)
  • ISO/TS 22001-4 Prerequisite programmes on food safety – Part 4: Food packaging manufacturing(if you manufacture packaging for food products

If you are implementing FSSC 22000 you will need:

• ISO 22000:2018 Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the food chain International Organization for Standardization / 01-Sep-2005 / 32 pages.
• FSSC 22000 Part I(Free download) – Requirements for organizations that require certification
• and ONE of the following:
  • ISO/TS 22001-1 Prerequisite programmes on food safety – Part 1: Food manufacturing (if you are a food manufacturer/processor)
  • ISO/TS 22001-4 Prerequisite programmes on food safety – Part 4: Food packaging manufacturing(if you manufacture packaging for food products

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For an efficient FSSC 22000 implementation, we recommend the FSSC 22000 Complete Online Training & Implementation Package. Save both time and money with the package. Includes training, templates, checklists and more to help you prepare for your certification audit.

What is a PCQI?

A Preventive controls qualified individual “means a qualified individual who has successfully completed training in the development and application of risk-based preventive controls at least equivalent to that received under a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by FDA or is otherwise qualified through job experience to develop and apply a food safety system.” Read about the responsibilities and requirements of a PCQI

Who needs the PCQI course?

While the list of FSMA’s new requirements is dense and varies greatly for some types of facility, one key change that applies to nearly all food companies is the introduction of a preventive controls qualified individual (PCQI). Not only does FSMA require facilities to have a food safety plan implemented by the deadline date of September 16, but the plan must be prepared and applied by a properly trained PCQI. Learn more about who needs the course

FSMA and FSSC 22000

Many companies around the world have been motivated to implement a GFSI Certification Scheme as part of their preparation for FSMA. A common question is whether an FSSC 22000 certified company meets the FSMA requirements.
An initial comparison between FSMA and FSSC 22000 has been completed by the Acheson Group. FSSC 22000 provides a summary of the report as well as a FREE DOWNLOADABLE PDF: Comparison of FSSC 22000 against the Preventive Controls for Human Food (Final Rule) containing the complete report

Preventive Controls for Human Food Training Course

This course, developed by FSPCA, is the “standardized curriculum” recognized by FDA; successfully completing this course is one way to meet the requirements for a PCQI. Your training certificate will be issued by the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO).
Upcoming PCQI Training sessions in Minneapolis, MN: July 26-28 & August 16-18

The PAS 220 and 223 documents were originally used along with ISO 22000 to make up the requirements for FSSC 22000 certification. They have both been replaced with ISO Technical Specifications. The PAS documents played an important role in GFSI recognition for an ISO based certification scheme.
The PAS documents contained prerequisite program requirements for a specific industry, facilitating recognition of FSSC 22000 by GFSI that ISO 22000 alone had not been able to obtain.
Once ISO published the requirements as “Technical Specification” (TS), they were benchmarked for FSSC. The PAS documents have been replaced by the Technical Specifications ISO/TS 22002-1 and ISO/TS 22002-4. Some modifications were made to the requirements.
Learn more about the prerequisite programs with convenient online training:
ISO/TS 22002-1 For food processors
ISO/TS 22002-4 For food packaging manufacturers

There is often confusion about the relationship between GFSI and SQF or FSSC 22000 Certification. We will try to clear that up.
GFSI is a global food network made up of hundreds of retailers and manufacturers worldwide. The GFSI organization determined which set of requirements would be essential to a good food safety management system. GFSI recognizes (benchmarks) food safety standards that include those requirements.
GFSI recognizes certain food safety standards. So, if you become certified to one of those standards (SQF, FSSC 22000, BRC…) the certificate will be recognized by GFSI but the certificate itself will not come from GFSI but from the Standards Body you are certified to (SQF, FSSC 22000, BRC…)
If your customer or market is requesting that you become certified to a GFSI standard, then you can select one of the GFSI Benchmarked standards. These include:

• FSSC 22000 Version 4.1
• (Implementation Package Available)
• SQF  Edition 8 (Implementation Package Available)
• BRC Issue 7
• Global Aquaculture Alliance BAP Issue 2
• Global Red Meat Standard
• International Food Standard Version 6
• Canada GAP for primary production
• Global GAP for primary production

View a more detailed explanation and watch a tutorial video.

Download Free SQF Quick Start Guide