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SQF Edition 10 audits start January 2027. Is your program ready? Learn more →

SQF Consulting

Get SQF certified, and stay that way.

A consulting practice that has sat on both sides of the audit table. We build your program with you, inside Beacon, so it is still running and still current long after the engagement ends.

The engagement

Four phases. Each one leaves something behind.

It starts with the gap assessment in the window above and ends with a mock audit run like the real thing. Every phase is built inside Beacon by people who have sat in the auditor's chair, and every phase ends with something your team keeps.

01

Gap assessment

We score your program against all 134 SQF elements, read the way an auditor reads them, and prioritize every gap with an owner and a timeline.

You keep

Gap Assessment Report All 134 elements · every gap owned and dated
02

Program build

HACCP plans, prerequisite programs, SOPs, and monitoring procedures, written to your products and your process, version-controlled and e-signed inside Beacon.

You keep

HACCP Plan v1.0 Approved · e-signed · SOPs and prerequisite programs included
03

Implementation

We configure digital monitoring on tablets, set the equipment schedules, and train your team on the floor until the program runs without us in the room.

You keep

Live Monitoring Records Captured on tablets, where the work happens
04

Mock audit

A full-scope rehearsal under the same standards and scoring a certification body uses, with every finding tracked and closed in Beacon.

You keep

Mock Audit Report Every finding tracked to closure in Beacon
Who leads it

Your consultant has sat on both sides of the table.

Our SQF practice is led by Jeffrey Strout, MPH, RS/REHS, CP-FS, SystemPath's Food Safety Director: a former SQF Lead Auditor and SQFI Trainer of the Year with 7,500+ audits. He has asked the questions your next auditor will ask, and the programs we build do not just pass, they score well.

The practice around him runs preventive controls inside a working, SQF-certified plant on Beacon every day, so the program we design is one an operator can actually run.

Who you're working with

49

Years of audit-side experience

A former SQF Lead Auditor and HACCP Alliance Instructor leading every engagement.

7,500+

Audits conducted

On the side of the table that asks the questions.

1

Working SQF-certified plant

PCQI-certified, FSPCA-trained practitioners running preventive controls on Beacon every day.

Why us

A stack of templates is not a food safety program.

Any consultant can assemble the documents, and on certificate day the two paths look identical. The difference shows in the year that follows. Here is the same year, lived twice.

Month 2

An SOP changes

A consultant alone

Someone edits a Word doc. Nobody finds out, and nobody re-trains.

Consulting built on Beacon

A new version routes for approval, and acknowledgments are assigned to everyone it touches.

Month 6

A retailer asks for last year's corrective action

A consultant alone

An inbox search, under pressure, in the meeting.

Consulting built on Beacon

The record: root cause, actions, and sign-offs on one trail.

Month 9

Your QA manager leaves

A consultant alone

The program leaves with them.

Consulting built on Beacon

The program is in the system: owned, assigned, and current.

Month 12

Recertification comes around

A consultant alone

Prep starts from scratch, often with a fresh invoice.

Consulting built on Beacon

The audit packet assembles from records you already keep.

We run a food plant on Beacon ourselves, so the program we build is one a real floor can keep running.

Beacon Platform

Your SQF program lives in Beacon. Not in a consultant's inbox.

Everything we build during the engagement stays inside Beacon: organized, version-controlled, and open to your whole team. When the engagement ends, the program keeps running without us.

Gap assessment scoring by element
HACCP and prerequisite programs
Version-controlled SOPs with e-signatures
Digital monitoring on tablets
Corrective action tracking
Mock audit findings and closeout
Supplier management workflows
Internal audit scheduling
See the SQF compliance software
Mock SQF audit findings tracked in Beacon
Sector breadth

Different sectors carry different hazards, and the Code reads differently on a bakery line than it does in a seafood plant. We have scoped programs across the range. Tell us about your facility and we will read it back to you.

Bakery & snacks Meat & poultry Dairy Beverages Frozen foods Fresh produce Seafood Confectionery Sauces & condiments Nutritional products

Get SQF certified with a team that has been through it

Not a sales rep. A 20-minute call with an actual SQF consultant who knows your facility type and what it takes to get certified where you stand today.

Prefer the phone? (313) 484-4887

What happens next

01

Discovery call

About your facility and goals. Not a sales pitch.

02

See it in action

A live walkthrough of Beacon scoped to your operation.

03

Custom proposal

Software, consulting, and training sized to your facility.

You'll talk with a food safety expert, not a sales rep.

20 minutes · No commitment · No pressure

Prefer to start in writing?

Tell us about your facility

Send the basics and we come to the call already knowing your products, your sector, and roughly where your program stands today.

A consultant who has certified facilities in your sector
A gap assessment scoped to your products and process
No commitment. Just a conversation
FAQ

SQF consulting questions, answered

Straightforward answers about our approach and what to expect.

Every engagement is scoped, and a few things set the effort: your facility size, how much of a working program already exists, your target timeline, and how complex your sector is. A plant with solid GMPs and documented prerequisite programs needs far less build than one starting from paper. After a discovery call and a gap assessment you get a specific number for your facility, not a rate-card guess. SQFI registration and the certification body's audit fees are separate, paid directly to those organizations.
The typical first-time timeline is 6 to 9 months from kickoff to audit. Facilities with an existing HACCP plan or GMP program move faster. Facilities starting from zero need more time. We give you a realistic timeline during scoping. We would rather be honest than optimistic.
You do not have to, but you would be making it harder on yourself. The consulting and software are designed to work together: HACCP plans, SOPs, monitoring forms, and corrective actions all live in one place. When your consultant leaves, you keep a system that stays organized, current, and audit-ready. If you only need consulting, we can discuss that too.
Our primary focus is U.S.-based food manufacturers, but we have worked with facilities in Canada and are open to other locations. SQF is a global standard and the methodology is the same regardless of geography. Contact us to discuss your situation.
That is fine. We are not here to replace a relationship that works. If you are happy with your consultant and just want the Beacon platform, we can do that. If your consultant retired, went quiet, or you want a different approach, we are here to help. No hard feelings either way.
All of them. SQFI retired the old level numbers with Edition 9, so the current programs are SQF Fundamentals for small and developing businesses, the SQF Food Safety Code (what retailers used to call Level 2), and the SQF Quality Code (the old Level 3, food safety plus quality management). Most manufacturers certifying for the first time pursue the Food Safety Code, which is what most retailers require.
Beacon is our AI-powered food safety management platform. Everything we build during the engagement, HACCP plans, SOPs, monitoring forms, and corrective action procedures, lives inside it. After consulting ends, your team runs the program day to day with version control, electronic signatures, automated alerts, and complete audit trails. Learn more about our SQF compliance software.
Every program we build is aligned to current Edition 10 requirements. We do not build to Edition 9 and patch later. Food safety culture records, environmental monitoring review, and documented change management are built into our methodology and supported in Beacon. Learn more about Edition 10.