About PJRFSI Standards Development

 

ANSI Accreditation as a Standards Developer

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the organization responsible for overseeing the development and use of American National Standards (ANS). ANSI does not write standards itself. Instead, it accredits organizations that demonstrate the procedural rigor, organizational capacity, and commitment to due process required to develop standards that carry the ANS designation.

PJRFSI has earned and maintains that accreditation. As an ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer (ASD), PJRFSI is authorized to develop standards under ANSI’s Essential Requirements, the framework that governs openness, balance, consensus, and appeals throughout the process. This is a formal recognition, not a marketing credential. It means PJRFSI meets the requirements ANSI has established for organizations that create the frameworks the food and cannabis industries depend on.

The Standards Development Process

Every standard PJRFSI develops follows ANSI’s Essential Requirements through six defined stages:

• Project initiation: PJRFSI identifies a gap where a credible, independently developed standard does not yet exist or where existing frameworks fail to adequately address the risks involved.
• Stakeholder committee formation: A balanced committee is assembled across industry sectors, regulatory bodies, consumer groups, and technical experts. No single interest group holds a controlling position.
• Draft development: The committee develops standard language collaboratively, drawing on technical expertise, regulatory requirements, and documented industry practice.
• Public comment period: Draft standards are published for open review. All substantive comments receive documented responses.
• Consensus and approval: The committee resolves outstanding issues and reaches consensus. ANSI oversees to confirm procedural requirements have been met.
• Publication and maintenance: Approved standards are published and periodically reviewed against evolving industry practice, regulatory requirements, and scientific understanding.

Why PJRFSI Pursues Standards Development

PJRFSI’s work in standards development reflects a deliberate choice to go beyond applying frameworks created by others. In food safety and cannabis, two industries where the regulatory environment continues to shift and the stakes for consumers are high, the standards built through a transparent, consensus-driven process provide a more durable foundation than informal guidance or unilateral frameworks.

In cannabis, PJRFSI identified early that the absence of a credible national standard was a genuine problem for producers, regulators, and consumers. PJRFSI became the first certification body in the United States to receive ANAB accreditation for a cannabis certification program, a milestone made possible because PJRFSI invested in developing a standard rigorous enough to earn that recognition. That same approach guides all of PJRFSI’s standards development work.

Why Choose PJRFSI?

PJRFSI is both a certification body and an ANSI-accredited standards developer, a combination that gives it a uniquely practical perspective on what makes a standard workable in real operations. The standards PJRFSI develops are built by people who understand how food and cannabis facilities actually function, not constructed at a distance from the industry they serve. That operational grounding is what separates PJRFSI’s standards development work from purely academic or regulatory exercises.

Contact

For questions about PJRFSI’s accreditation as a standards developer, to learn about participation in active projects, or to propose a new standard, contact PJRFSI at 1-855-757-7374. You can also visit the Get Involved page to explore how to participate directly.