Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael McCain calls it the company's next step in food safety leadership.
The company committed has to certifying it's operations to Global Food Safety Initiative benchmarked standards five years ago.
Now Maple Leaf says all of it's protein, ingredient and packaging suppliers will also have to become food safety certified to GFSI standards by 2017.
GFSI's stated goal is to promote a harmonized approach to managing food safety across the food industry world-wide.
It's collaborating between the world's leading food safety experts from retail, manufacturing and food service companies as well as international organisations, governments, academia and service provides to the global food industry.
The Initiative recognizes 10 food safety management programs world-wide.
