A new mandate for Wal-Mart suppliers
Wal-Mart’s commitment to food safety means its suppliers will need to comply with a new set of standards. Earlier this week, Wal-Mart announced it would require suppliers of private label and branded food products to have their factories certified against one of the internationally recognized Global Food Safety Initiative standards. The company also touted the fact that in doing so, it was the first nationwide U.S. grocer to adopt said standards.
“The requirement for suppliers to complete these certifications demonstrates our leadership in food safety and our commitment to global safety standards,” said J.P. Suarez, Wal-Mart’s senior vp and chief compliance officer. Suarez also sits on the board of the Global Food Safety Initiative along with other international retailers who determined which sets of existing standards should be part of the GFSI. “We encourage other U.S. retailers to follow our lead and to also endorse these standards.”
Food suppliers were given the period between July and December 2008 to complete an initial certification, with full certification required by July 2009. What’s involved is suppliers must have their factories certified by third party auditing companies approved by Wal-Mart as a means to safeguard and ensure high quality in the international food supply chain. According to Wal-Mart, “GFSI standards provide real time detail on where suppliers fall short in food safety on a plant-by-plant basis and go beyond the current FDA of USDA required audit process.”
While it would be easy to view the new requirement as just another mandate from a company whose suppliers are accustomed to shouldering the burden of Wal-Mart’s new initiative, the adoption of global food safety standards will be a good thing as GFSI brings uniformity and consistency to the factory certification process. International food suppliers currently deal with considerable duplication in the factory audit process, as different retailers in different parts of the world require different safety certifications.
Wal-Mart’s decision to adopt the standards precedes a presentation scheduled for Feb. 14 at the International Food Safety Conference in Amsterdam presented by CIES The Food Business Forum, the parent organization of GFSI. Wal-Mart’s Suarez is scheduled to appear as part of a panel to discuss the topic, “Straight Talk: U.S. Retailers & the Food Safety Issue.” Other panelists include Cory Hedman, director of food safety and quality assurance with Delhaize America; Tom Furphy, vp of consumables and AmazonFresh with Amazon.com; and Michael Ambrosio, vp food safety and quality assurance with Wakefern USA.
Wal-Mart contends food safety has always been a top priority; however, the position occupied by Suarez is a relatively new one for the company. It was created in 2004 in response to a number of labor issues and was initially filled by senior vp, Robin Forbis. Two years ago, Suarez, the company’s senior vp of asset protection and compliance, was named chief compliance officer in a move that centralized the retailer’s compliance efforts in areas such as environmental, privacy, immigration and operations.Before joining Wal-Mart in 2004 as vp and general counsel for Sam’s Club, Suarez served as the assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He also has served as a federal and state prosecutor and was the chief enforcement officer for New Jersey's gaming industry.