The evolution of the global food safety initiative: The dynamics of the legitimacy of a transnational private rule-maker

This Chapter analyzes the evolution of Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) as a transnational private rule-maker. The lens through which we assess this evolution is the concept of legitimacy understood in terms of institutionalization theory. To survive, any organization needs social acceptability and credibility. For private, non-state regulatory organizations such as GFSI, building and maintaining such legitimacy is of vital importance. We argue that GFSI has evolved through processes of pluralization of its constituents, increased transparency, ratchetting up of food standards’ quality, and globalization of its benchmarking activities. In these dynamics, we suggest, GFSI has sought to respond to opposition voiced by internal and external actors in the light of food crises and regulatory developments in the field of food safety and its certification. The apt management of theses voices, which stem from different legitimacy communities, has enabled GFSI to evolve from a relatively limited retailer-led initiative into a leading actor in the field of global food safety.