NSF Davis Fresh, a unit of NSF International, has changed its name to NSF Agriculture to more accurately reflect new services that include GlobalGAP certification and food safety services for livestock, poultry and egg production operations.

A long-time provider of food safety services for the perishable and produce industry in the U.S. and Latin America, NSF Agriculture recently implemented new programs that include expanded GlobalGAP certification, as well as food safety, quality, animal welfare, organic and sustainable agriculture auditing, and certification for livestock, poultry and egg producers.

NSF Agriculture also pioneered the first-of-its-kind Local Farm Assurance program to help national retailers, distributors and foodservice companies source locally-grown food products. It does so by providing small, local food producers with a cost-effective way to improve their food safety systems and demonstrate compliance with national and global food safety standards and regulations.

NSF Agriculture also is expanding its services by hiring additional regional food safety experts and auditors who can provide more localized food safety and quality services. These changes have been led by NSF Agriculture President Dr. Donna Garren, former Vice President of Food Safety Programs for The Consumer Goods Forum.

“NSF Agriculture’s expansion into new food sectors and regions of North and South America bridges the gap in NSF’s global food safety services and provides growers, processors, distributors, retailers and foodservice operators a global network of localized food safety services,” said Dr. Donna Garren, President and General Manager of NSF Agriculture. “The addition of more regional food safety experts and auditors also will enable NSF Agriculture to provide more localized food safety and quality services.”

By working closely with other members of the NSF International family of companies, NSF Agriculture is able to provide food safety solutions on a global scale. NSF Agriculture is part of NSF International’s Global Food Safety Division, which offers a total food safety solution to growers, processors, distributors, retailers and food-service operators, as well as food equipment manufacturers, around the world.

NSF International has been a global leader in food safety auditing and certification services for more than 66 years. In 2010, NSF International provided food safety solutions to more than 28,000 customers worldwide and became the global leader in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Harvesting Practices (GHP) audits, and certification to Global Food Safety Initiative*-benchmarked standards including British Retail Consortium (BRC), Safe Quality Foods (SQF) and GlobalGAP.

Other NSF food safety services include: NSF Foodservice Equipment certification; food safety and quality auditing and certification through NSF Agriculture, NSF Cook & Thurber and NSF-CMi; Global Food Safety Standards Certification (SQF, BRC, GlobalGAP, FSSC, IFS, Dutch HACCP); NSF Restaurant and Supermarket Food Safety programs; Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC), HACCP validation and inspection through NSF Surefish Seafood Safety; bottled water/flavored beverage quality certification; organic certification through Quality Assurance International (QAI), and food safety education through NSF Education and Training.

For additional information about NSF Agriculture and to obtain an electronic brochure of our services, visit http://www.nsf.org/info/agriculture or contact Ricardo Islas at +1 520-232-3561 or rislas@nsf.org.

Editor’s note: To arrange an interview with NSF Agriculture President and General Manager Dr. Donna Garren contact Greta Houlahan at +1 734.913.5723 or houlahan@nsf.org.

To view a video of Dr. Donna Garren speaking about the new NSF Agriculture program, visit http://youtu.be/NnqooA-gqzQ.

About NSF International: NSF International, an independent public health and safety organization, certifies products and writes standards for food, water and consumer goods to minimize adverse health effects and protect the environment (nsf.org). Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting human health and safety worldwide and operates in more than 120 countries. NSF is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Food and Water Safety and Indoor Environment.

Additional NSF services include dietary supplement and nutritional ingredient certification, drinking water certification and safety audits, management systems registrations (e.g. ISO 14001) delivered through NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR); and sustainable business solutions through NSF Sustainability.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), an independent non-profit foundation managed by The Consumer Goods Forum, was founded in 2000.

CONTACT: Greta Houlahan
Phone: 734.913.5723
E-mail: houlahan@nsf.org