New public stakeholder consultation for: Freshcare Food Safety & Quality Standard – Edition 5 (2026) | GFSI BMRs v2024.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is pleased to open the public stakeholder consultation for Freshcare Food Safety & Quality Standard – Edition 5 (2026). This consultation is a mandatory step in the GFSI benchmarking process to allow for industry-wide input regarding the certification programme’s alignment with the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements Version 2024.

From 29 September 2026 to 29 October 2026 at midnight CET, we invite all interested stakeholders to participate and share their feedback on Freshcare’s GFSI benchmarking report.

Scopes of application

Freshcare has applied for recognition for:

• Food Safety & Quality Standard – Edition 5 (2026)

against the following GFSI scopes:

• BI Farming of Plants (other than grains and pulses)
• BIII Pre-process Handling of plant products 
• FI Retail / Wholesale 
• FII Food Broker / Agent 
• G Provision of Storage and Distribution Services

Invitation for input

GFSI invites all interested stakeholders to review the assessment documents and provide technical comments regarding the programme’s conformity to the GFSI Requirements.

Available documentation for review:

• GFSI Benchmark Assessment Report (Freshcare Food Safety & Quality Standard – Edition 5 (2026))
• CPO Self-Assessment Checklists (Parts 2, 3, and Scopes BI, BIII, FI, FII and G)

How to submit comments:

To participate, download the consultation documents below and respond by 29 October 2026 at midnight CET.

About Freshcare

Established in 2000, Freshcare is an Australian-owned and operated company providing internationally recognised assurance standards for the fresh produce and winegrape industries.

As a purpose-driven organisation, Freshcare is funded through participation, with all proceeds going back into the research, development, and science to assure continuous consumer safety and environmental stewardship.

Supported by user-friendly resources and training, Freshcare standards help Australian producers demonstrate their capacity to grow, pack, and distribute safe, sustainable, quality produce for customers and consumers worldwide.

Freshcare offers a number of certification programmes, with its Food Safety & Quality Standard – GFSI recognised. Freshcare’s Food Safety & Quality Standard – Edition 5 was published on September 1 2026 with audits against the programme from March 2027.

Freshcare has over 3000 GFSI recognised certifications across Australia delivered by a number of approved Certification Bodies. Details are available on their website www.freshcare.com.au.