Independent Food Safety Standard & Recognition Authority
Independent Food Safety Standard & Recognition Authority
The criteria a food business must meet to be recognized by TrustBite and listed in the Public Registry, so its customers and buyers can see, check, and trust that it operates a genuine food safety management system.
TrustBite is an independent recognition and verification body. It publishes food safety standards, recognizes the organizations and individuals who meet them, and maintains the public registry that lets anyone confirm a recognition is real.
This document sets out the criteria a food business must meet to be recognized by TrustBite and listed in the Public Registry. Recognition gives a business a public, independently reviewed confirmation that it operates a genuine food safety management system.
The Standard exists so that recognition means the same thing for every business. A customer, a buyer, or an auditor can read this document and know exactly what a recognized business has been held to.
Clauses are numbered for reference. Any requirement stated with “must” is mandatory. Guidance and explanation are provided where a requirement benefits from context.
This Standard applies to food businesses, including manufacturers, hospitality operators, caterers, food service, importers, distributors, and digital food platforms that handle food or place it on the market.
The purpose of recognition is to give a food business a public, independently reviewed confirmation that it operates a genuine food safety management system, so that customers and buyers can see and verify it rather than take it on trust.
Recognition is open to any food business that operates a documented food safety management system. A business is not eligible where it has no food safety system in place, or where it is subject to an unresolved regulatory enforcement action relating to food safety.
A business is reviewed against every criterion below. A business must meet all of them to be recognized.
| Criterion | What TrustBite reviews |
|---|---|
| Food safety system | A documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles. |
| Scope definition | A clear description of the products, processes, and sites the system covers. |
| Prerequisite programmes | Evidence of hygiene, cleaning, pest control, and traceability arrangements. |
| Responsibility | A named person accountable for food safety within the business. |
| Legal compliance | Compliance with the food safety law that applies in the operating jurisdiction. |
| Operating evidence | Records showing the system operates in practice, including monitoring and corrective action. |
| Standing | No unresolved food safety enforcement action against the business. |
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Application. The business contacts TrustBite with a brief description of its operations and the recognition category. |
| 2 | Documentation. TrustBite issues a checklist covering the food safety system, scope, and supporting records. |
| 3 | Review. TrustBite reviews the documentation, system scope, and practices against the criteria in section 3. |
| 4 | Decision. Recognition is granted, granted with conditions, or declined, with reasons given. |
| 5 | Publication. The public profile page is published, the reference number is issued, the registry listing goes live, and the recognition mark is authorized. |
Most applications are completed within five to ten business days of receiving complete documentation.
TrustBite recognition fees are set out on the TrustBite Recognition page. Recognition is included at no additional cost for clients of Confi Food OÜ, the official implementing partner of the TrustBite framework.
A recognized business must:
Every recognized business receives all of the following, kept current for the recognition period.
A registry query returns one of the following statuses.
Recognition is granted for twelve months and reviewed annually. Recognition may be suspended or withdrawn where the food safety system lapses, where a serious food safety incident remains unresolved, where the recognition mark is misused, or where false information has been provided.
Suspended or withdrawn status is reflected in the Public Registry. A business may appeal a decision through the published appeals route.
This Standard is reviewed at least once every two years, and sooner if a referenced external standard is materially revised. The version in force is always the one published on the TrustBite site.
TrustBite is an independent initiative focused on strengthening trust in food safety practices through voluntary standards, professional recognition, and educational coordination.
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