Food Safety First Inc

What Food Safety First Inc does

Food Safety First Inc is a privately held Canadian food safety consulting firm founded in February 2007 by Oliden Herrera and headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. The firm delivers advisory, training, maintenance, and design services to food processing, manufacturing, packaging, storage, distribution, and pet food businesses, primarily across Canada with claimed reach into the US, Mexico, and the UK. Its core offerings span the full lifecycle of a Food Safety Management System (FSMS): development, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of HACCP plans; consulting for GFSI-benchmarked certifications (SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000, IFS PAC Secure); Preventive Control Plans and FSMA-HARPC for FDA compliance; CFIA and OMAFRA recognized-facility maintenance; International HACCP Alliance-approved training; food plant layout design with government approval assistance; and a Health Canada-compliant label review service.

The underlying "technology" is the firm's regulatory and standards expertise rather than a software platform. Service delivery is led by a multidisciplinary team of five named consultants holding credentials including two PhDs (Food Science, Bioresource Engineering), a BEng/MSc founder qualified as a SQF, BRC, and HACCP consultant, and a BRC third-party-auditor-certified consultant with Lean Six Sigma training, collectively representing over 40 years of food-processing consulting experience.

The business model is professional services delivered through a direct, sales-led motion: a free initial consultation serves as the top-of-funnel offer, followed by quote-based engagements scoped per client. There is no publicly disclosed pricing, no subscription or platform revenue, no disclosed external funding, and no parent company. The firm operates without disclosed enterprise logos, awards, or public customer references, consistent with a small referral- and relationship-driven consulting practice of 1-10 employees.

Name

Food Safety First Inc

Legal name

Food Safety First Inc

Website

https://foodsafetyfirstinc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Food Safety First Inc is a privately held Canadian food safety consultancy, founded 2007 in Mississauga, providing HACCP, GFSI (SQF/BRC/FSSC 22000/IFS PAC Secure), CFIA, OMAFRA, and FDA FSMA consulting, training, facility maintenance, plant design, and label review to food processors, manufacturers, packagers, and distributors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Safety Consulting

akta.pro primary industry

FSMS Documentation & Process Design (HACCP Plans, SOPs, Prerequisite Programs) (AFALANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pre-Assessment, Gap Assessment & Certification Readiness Services (AFALACAE), Recall Readiness, Crisis Management & Regulatory Liaison (AFALADAG), Training & Competency Programs (HACCP, PCQI, GMP) (AFALADAK)

Keywords

• Food safety consulting
• HACCP implementation
• GFSI certification
• Food plant design
• Food safety training

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississauga

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Food Safety Consulting Services: Core consulting services including development, implementation, and maintenance of food safety management systems. Services include HACCP, GFSI certification support (SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000, IFS PAC Secure), PCP, FSMA-HARPC, and regulatory compliance consulting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Food Safety First Inc is a food safety consulting firm that develops, implements, and maintains food safety management systems (FSMS) for food businesses, with practice areas covering HACCP, GFSI-benchmarked certifications (SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000, IFS PAC Secure), Preventive Control Plans (PCP), FSMA-HARPC, food safety maintenance, training, food plant layout design, government approval assistance, and label review. Services are delivered by qualified food safety consultants through on-site engagement with food processing companies across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and the U.K.

Product overview

Food Safety First Inc is a food safety consulting firm offering advisory services rather than a software platform. The company provides a comprehensive portfolio of food safety consulting services organized into four main categories: (1) Consulting services including HACCP, GFSI, SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000, IFS PAC Secure, PCP, and FSMA-HARPC; (2) Food Safety Maintenance services for CFIA, GFSI, and OMAFRA recognized facilities; (3) Training programs for HACCP, SQF, and BRC; and (4) Food Plant Design services including layout design, government approval assistance, GFSI compliance design, and label review. The consulting team supports clients through the entire food safety management system lifecycle from development and implementation to ongoing maintenance and certification audits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HACCP Consulting Development, implementation, and maintenance of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety management systems, including customized GMPs and Prerequisite Programs, for food processing facilities seeking regulatory and GFSI compliance.
• GFSI Certification Consulting Comprehensive consulting for Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked standards, including gap analysis, program development, implementation, and audit support across SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000, and IFS PAC Secure.
• SQF Certification Consulting Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification consulting including gap analysis, program development, implementation support, and audit preparation for GFSI-recognized SQF certification.
• BRC Certification Consulting BRC Global Standards certification consulting covering assessment, program documentation, and implementation coaching for BRC-recognized GFSI certification.
• FSSC 22000 Certification Consulting Food Safety Management System certification consulting based on ISO standards (FSSC 22000), including gap analysis and audit preparation for GFSI-recognized FSSC 22000 certification.
• IFS PAC Secure Consulting Consulting for IFS PAC Secure food safety management system certification for packaging material producers, converters, distributors, and fillers.
• PCP (Preventive Control Plan) Consulting Preventive Control Plan development based on Codex Alimentarius principles for food importers and processors seeking CFIA-compliant preventive controls.
• FSMA-HARPC Consulting Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls (HARPC) consulting for FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliance for U.S.-bound food producers and importers.
• CFIA Recognized Facilities Maintenance Ongoing support for Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) registered plants including reassessment, corrective actions, and regulatory audit representation.
• GFSI Facilities Maintenance Maintenance services for GFSI-certified facilities including internal audits, verification and validation activities, and FSMS upgrades.
• OMAFRA Recognized Facilities Maintenance Support for Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) registered facilities, including inspection and audit report handling.
• HACCP Training Courses HACCP training courses approved by the International HACCP Alliance, including Introductory (2 days), Executive (half-day), and Advanced Verification and Validation (2 days) courses for food industry professionals.
• SQF Training Courses Safe Quality Food (SQF) training including Implementation (2 days) and Internal Auditor (2 days) courses for SQF practitioners and auditors.
• BRC Training Course BRC Global Standards overview training course covering principles, implementation, and maintenance for BRC practitioners.
• Food Plant Layout Design Food plant layout design services to prevent cross-contamination and improve operational efficiency for new and renovated facilities.
• Government Approval Assistance (CFIA / OMAFRA) Assistance with CFIA and OMAFRA plant registration including application forms, construction materials selection, process flows, and documentation preparation.
• GFSI Compliance Design Food plant design services to meet GFSI scheme requirements (SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000, IFS PAC Secure) for new facilities or renovations.
• Food Label Review Service Food label review and nutrition fact calculation services ensuring CFIA compliance, including bilingual ingredient declarations and allergen reviews.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• SGS: One of the world's largest Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) firms with a substantial food safety vertical including certification, audits, and consulting. Competes broadly across FSF's GFSI service lines.
• Intertek: Global TIC provider offering food testing, certification, and consulting services including SQF and BRC support. Competes in the same GFSI consulting space at greater scale and geographic reach.
• Eurofins: Global food testing laboratory network with food safety auditing and certification services. Adjacent peer offering food safety consulting alongside extensive lab capabilities.
• Bureau Veritas: Global TIC company with comprehensive food and agri-commodities services including GFSI certification support and HACCP consulting. Directly overlaps FSF's offerings as part of a broader portfolio.
• Mérieux NutriSciences: Food testing, safety, and quality consulting firm serving manufacturers across North America with regulatory and GFSI scheme support. Closely aligned service model at larger scale.

Direct peers

• NSF International: Global food safety certification and consulting organization offering GFSI scheme support (SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000) and HACCP consulting. Closest comparable in service mix, though at significantly larger scale.
• DNV: Global certification body with a dedicated Food & Beverage practice offering FSSC 22000 and other GFSI certifications plus consulting. Directly comparable service portfolio to FSF.
• EAS Consulting Group: Specialized food and dietary supplement regulatory consulting firm offering FDA/USDA compliance support and HACCP/GFSI consulting. Closely comparable boutique consulting model.
• AIB International (Merit): Food safety consulting, training, and certification organization specializing in GFSI standards and HACCP. Closely comparable boutique-style food safety consultancy offering.

Emerging players

• FoodChain ID: Food safety, certification, and compliance services company with GFSI scheme support (SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000). Comparable service focus though increasingly tech-enabled.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/food-safety-first-inc-

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Food Safety First Inc