Independent Food Safety Standard & Recognition Authority
Independent Food Safety Standard & Recognition Authority
The criteria an individual food safety professional must meet to be recognized by TrustBite and listed in the Public Registry, giving clients and employers a verifiable listing they can check.
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 an individual food safety professional must meet to be recognized by TrustBite and listed in the Public Registry. Recognition gives a professional an independent, public confirmation that their credentials and experience have been reviewed.
The Standard exists so that recognition means the same thing for every professional. A client or an employer can read this document and know exactly what a recognized professional 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 individual food safety professionals, including consultants, compliance specialists, food safety managers, trainers, and auditors.
The purpose of recognition is to give clients and employers an independent, public confirmation that a professional’s food safety credentials and experience have been reviewed, with a verifiable listing they can check rather than take on trust.
Recognition is open to individuals working in a food safety role or providing food safety services. An individual is not eligible where they cannot evidence a relevant qualification or current practice, or where there is an unresolved finding of professional misconduct against them.
An applicant is reviewed against every criterion below. An applicant must meet all of them to be recognized.
| Criterion | What TrustBite reviews |
|---|---|
| Qualification | A relevant food safety qualification, such as a Level 3 or higher food safety or HACCP qualification, or an equivalent recognized credential. |
| Experience | Demonstrable professional experience in food safety, with a minimum of two years in practice. |
| Current practice | Evidence of current or recent food safety work. |
| Conduct | A commitment to ethical professional conduct. |
| Currency | Evidence of continuing professional development. |
| Standing | No unresolved findings of professional misconduct. |
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Application. The professional contacts TrustBite with their credentials and a summary of their experience. |
| 2 | Documentation. TrustBite issues a checklist covering qualifications, experience, and current practice. |
| 3 | Review. TrustBite reviews the submission 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 professional must:
Every recognized professional 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 a professional misrepresents their recognition, where a finding of professional misconduct is upheld, or where the individual is no longer in active food safety practice.
Suspended or withdrawn status is reflected in the Public Registry. A professional 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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