Two-minute brief
SQF requirements explained: video brief
A two-minute brief on how an SQF Food Safety Code is structured and what a site is audited against.
Key takeaways
- Part A covers implementation and certification rules; Part B holds the requirements.
- Module 2 holds the system elements, including the food safety plan.
- Good practice modules are written for each sector.
- Sites are scored out of 100.
- An optional Quality Code can be added.
Part A and Part B
Each SQF Food Safety Code has two parts. Part A sets out how the Code is implemented and maintained and how certification works; Part B holds the auditable requirements: the system elements in Module 2 and a good practice module for the sector. This short film follows the Edition 10 Food Manufacturing code; the other codes pair their system elements with good practice requirements for their own sector.
Part A asks the site to register, appoint its SQF practitioners, define the scope, and follow the rules for audits, scoring, corrective action and certificates. In practice that means a current registration in the SQFI Assessment Database, a scope naming products and food sector categories, and a certification body chosen from SQFI's licensed list.
System elements and good practices
Module 2, the system elements, runs from management commitment, with a signed food safety policy, a food safety culture that leadership drives and measures, and a primary and a substitute SQF practitioner, through document control, new products and commercialisation, and the HACCP-based food safety plan, to validation and effectiveness, product identification and traceability with tested withdrawal and recall, food defence, allergen risk assessment and a training programme. The good practice module for food manufacturing then sets requirements for the site itself: building and equipment condition, maintenance, personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitation, pest control, water and air, storage, waste, and environmental monitoring designed from the site's hazards.
Sites are audited and scored out of 100 by a certification body licensed by SQFI and accredited to ISO/IEC 17065, and an optional Quality Code can be added. SQF Code Edition 10 is current, published as digital codes and updated on 1 September 2026. The codes apply to growers, livestock and aquaculture producers, manufacturers of food, pet food, animal feed, animal products and dietary supplements, food sector packaging makers, and storage and distribution sites.
SQF at a glance
- Purpose
- Food safety certification for each link of the supply chain: a HACCP-based food safety plan, system elements and sector good practices, audited and scored out of 100, with an optional Quality Code
- Relevant to
- Growers, livestock and aquaculture producers; manufacturers of food, pet food, animal feed, animal products and dietary supplements; food sector packaging makers; storage and distribution sites
- Edition
- SQF Code Edition 10, published by SQFI as digital codes and updated on 1 September 2026; your certification body confirms which edition your next audit uses
- Certification
- Audited, scored and decided by an SQFI-licensed certification body accredited to ISO/IEC 17065; the site registers in the SQFI Assessment Database; the SQF Food Safety Codes appear on GFSI's list of recognised programmes
- Sterling's role
- Code selection, gap analysis, food safety plan, system elements and good practice controls, practitioner coaching, Effivity, training, internal audit and audit readiness, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for an SQF food safety system depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 5 to 9 months
SQF: questions people ask
What is the difference between the SQF Food Safety Code and the SQF Quality Code?
The Food Safety Code is the food safety certification, with a code for each sector, audited and scored out of 100. The Quality Code is designed to monitor and control threats to food quality and works best where a robust food safety plan is already in place. It requires certification to the SQF Food Safety Code for the site's sector, or, under Edition 10, a food or feed manufacturing or storage site certified to another GFSI-recognised programme or food safety management standard. Quality Code audits receive no score or rating, and a separate certificate is issued.
Is SQF recognised by GFSI?
Yes. GFSI's list of recognised certification programmes includes the SQF Food Safety Codes, Edition 9, benchmarked against GFSI Benchmarking Requirements version 2020 for scopes from farming and primary conversion to food processing, feed, storage and distribution and food packaging; SQFI says SQF has been benchmarked since 2004. SQF Fundamentals and the Quality Code are not on GFSI's list. With Edition 10 now published, check the current listing when you book the audit.
What does an SQF practitioner do, and do we need one?
Yes, you need one. Every certified site must have a suitably qualified primary SQF practitioner and a substitute to oversee the development, implementation, review and maintenance of the SQF system, and the Code sets out the practitioner requirements under management commitment in section 2.1. In practice the practitioner is the auditor's first point of contact and the person who keeps the system current between audits. Sterling coaches both through the implementation.
How is an SQF audit scored under Edition 10?
Each nonconformity deducts points from 100: 1 for a minor, 2 for a minor against a core clause, 5 for a major, 7 for a major against a core clause and 50 for a critical. A score of 80 to 100 is rated Certified, with the next audit in twelve months; 70 to 79 is Certified with Surveillance, with a surveillance audit six months on; below 70 fails an initial audit, and at recertification the site is immediately suspended. Core clauses carry more weight because of their role in preventing food safety failures.
How do unannounced SQF audits work?
One recertification audit in each three-year cycle is unannounced. It takes place within the usual 60-day recertification window, in the first, second or third year of the cycle, and unlike other SQF audits no part of it can be conducted remotely. A site may instead choose to have every annual recertification audit unannounced.
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