Freshcare released the Freshcare Food Safety & Quality Standard – Edition 5 (FSQ5) on 1 September 2026. The new edition will replace the current Freshcare Food Safety & Quality Standard Edition 4.2 (FSQ4.2) and Freshcare Supply Chain Standard Edition 2 (SCS2) following a transition period.
A central change in FSQ5 is the consolidation of the previously separate on-farm food safety and supply chainrequirements into one Food Safety & Quality Standard covering activities across the fresh produce supply chain. The standard applies from primary production and harvesting through packing, storage and distribution, with certification scopes covering growers, packers, wholesalers, brokers, storage and transport operators, marketing groups, provedores, ripeners and fumigation activities.
Main areas of change
FSQ5 retains the HACCP-based foundation of the existing Freshcare food safety programme, but revises the structure and presentation of requirements and places greater emphasis on risk-based management. The standard is based on the current Codex Alimentarius General Principles of Food Hygiene, including Good Hygiene Practices and HACCP, for identifying and controlling biological, chemical, physical and allergen hazards.
Key areas of revision include:
- Revised structure and clearer requirements, with the standard organised into Management, Site, Biosecurity and Produce sections and associated modules.
- Strengthened food safety management system requirements, including clearer expectations for documentation, management review, verification and continual improvement.
- Greater emphasis on risk assessment and preventive controls, intended to focus controls on risks relevant to the activities and circumstances of individual businesses.
- Food safety culture requirements, including management commitment, measurable objectives, worker responsibilities, training and consideration of food safety culture within management review.
- Formal inclusion of biosecurity requirements, requiring businesses to identify relevant biosecurity threats, establish controls and periodically review their biosecurity arrangements.
- More explicit provisions relating to areas such as supplier management, authenticity, allergens, food defence and food fraud, traceability, recall and withdrawal, and product handling. E.g. FSQ5 requires documented vulnerability assessments where relevant for food defence and food fraud risks.
GFSI benchmarking
Formal GFSI recognition of FSQ5 is still pending. The existing FSQ4.2 and SCS2 programmes remain GFSI-recognised during the transition.
Transition
The transition timetable provides that FSQ5 audits may commence from 1 March 2027. From that date, initial certification audits must be conducted against FSQ5, while existing certified businesses may continue to undergo recertification against FSQ4.2 or SCS2 until 30 June 2027. From 1 July 2027, all Freshcare audits must be conducted against FSQ5.
Certification Bodies will also need to extend their ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation scope to include FSQ5 before issuing accredited FSQ5 certification. The transition arrangements require CBs to update their management systems and audit tools, train and evaluate certification personnel, and ensure auditor approval is aligned with the applicable Freshcare and GFSI scope categories.
The FSQ5 release is accompanied by revised Freshcare Rules, Certification Scope Guide, Crop List and certification-related normative documents.
Further information, including the standard and transition resources, is available on the Freshcare FSQ5 webpage: https://www.freshcare.com.au/fsq5/