Official Launch: GFSI Global Markets Awards Now Open for Applications

- If you're an SME, it's time to showcase your commitment to delivering safe food to consumers everywhere  The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is pleased to announce the launch of its Global Markets Awards 2019. For this third edition, the Awards will recognise companies from across the globe that have leveraged GFSI's Global Markets Programme in an exemplary way on their journey towards a world-class food safety management system.      (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/697527/Global_Food_Safety_Initiative_Logo.jpg ) Award recipients will travel to the GFSI Conference in Nice, France from 25th-28th February 2019, where they will benefit from networking opportunities and be recognised for their excellence throughout the conference week. The Journey towards Safe Food for Consumers Everywhere  The Global Markets Awards are a unique opportunity to highlight the efforts of food business operators to scale up their capabilities to produce safe food, in line with the GFSI vision of safe food for consumers everywhere. The Global Markets Programme, building a pathway to certification, was created seven years ago providing an unaccredited entry point for companies with a step-by-step programme designed to build capacity within production and manufacturing operations, setting out how companies with less sophisticated food safety management systems can meet the challenge of food safety, while simultaneously reducing hazards in global food supply chains and improving market access through certification to one of the GFSI-recognised certification programme owners. Recognising Food and Beverage Companies from Around the World  Food companies, farms or facilities can apply by demonstrating their food safety journey and illustrating their use of the Global Markets Programme to create an enabling environment for safer food. The Awards intend to reflect the geographic diversity of the Global Markets Programme's implementation, with categories for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the rest of the world, as well as an honourary award for France, as the host country of the GFSI Conference 2019. A Selection Committee Made Up of Notable Food Safety Experts and Academics  A Selection Committee was formed for the 2018 edition of the Awards, composed of experts from diverse backgrounds, with representatives from both the public and private sector and spanning four continents (Nigeria, Kenya, Mexico, Ukraine, USA and Japan). The Selection Committee is chaired by Mike Taylor, former Deputy Commissioner to the US Food and Drug Administration. The Selection Committee will be paying special attention to food safety culture and market access. GFSI is pleased to partner with greenfence, who is generously sponsoring these significant awards for the third year running. "Greenfence was honoured to be part of the celebratory awards ceremony at the 2018 conference in Tokyo, in which four companies were recognised for their application of the GFSI Global Markets Programme. These exemplary companies, all from different regions across the world, showed how small companies can provide safe food, reduce risk in the supply chain and become trusted trading partners. The second edition of the awards already received many excellent applications and we are confident that the 2019 edition will attract even more exceptional applications. We are therefore delighted to continue to sponsor this prestigious award, which is fully aligned with greenfence's objective to provide the food industry with a trusted, effective way to identify and authenticate suppliers of products and services," said Mitch Chait, CEO and founder, greenfence. Awards applications close on 26th September 2018 at 6.00pm Central European time. To learn more and apply, visit http://awards.mygfsi.com/ About the Global Food Safety Initiative  The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) brings together key actors of the food industry to collaboratively drive continuous improvement in food safety management systems around the world. With a vision of Safe food for consumers everywhere, food industry leaders created GFSI in 2000 to find collaborative solutions to collective concerns, notably to reduce food safety risks, audit duplication and costs while building trust throughout the supply chain. The GFSI community works on a volunteer basis and is composed of the world's leading food safety experts from retail, manufacturing and food service companies, as well as international organisations, governments, academia and service providers to the global food industry. GFSI is powered by The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a global industry network working to support Better Lives Through Better Business. http://www.mygfsi.com