Important Changes to Freshcare

Berries Australia | Wednesday, 24 July 2019, 9.00am

An updated standard FSQ4.1 has been developed to ensure Freshcare certification is compliant with the benchmarks set by GFSI. Once all GFSI feedback is incorporated, the FSQ4.1 standard will be released to industry in early July.

Once released, FSQ4.1 will be available for download from the Freshcare website, along with updated Freshcare Rules and resources to assist in implementation including transition guide, factsheets, and forms.

Current businesses registered to the Freshcare FSQ4 Standard will receive a hard copy of the FSQ4.1 transition guide and forms via post, by the end of 2019.

Preparing for FSQ4.1

One of the changes in the updated standard will be the requirement for businesses to document procedures or work instructions for activities that impact food safety.

What does this mean in practice?

It means a business needs to write down the requirements for activities such as hand washing; the operation of wash baths, flumes and treatment tanks; labeling and traceability. The documented procedures will help to demonstrate a consistent and correct approach to food safety management. You might already have some of these procedures or work instructions documented and in place; if not, Freshcare will provide templates for the development of key procedures.

Another new area of focus is on incident management.

An incident management plan will detail the steps to be taken, in planning for, during and after an incident or event, to minimise the impact on the business. Freshcare will provide guidance on establishing an incident management plan, with the intent to help businesses anticipate, prevent or prepare for disruptions such as fire; flood or storms; computer or system crashes; illness; product contamination; supply chain interruptions; and detail how to respond and recover from them.

Freshcare will continue to keep you updated on the changes to come and what they mean for your business.

Summary of important info:

Freshcare’s compliance with GFSI is a retailer driven requirement, in order for us to remain an approved base scheme under HARPS.
Freshcare FSQ4.1 will be released in July 2019, businesses are required to transition over from FSQ4 to FSQ4.1 for their 2020 audit.
All audits from the 1 January 2020 will be to FSQ4.1
Freshcare will provide resources to assist participants in the transition to FSQ4.1, updates to come via monthly e-newsletters and the Freshcare website.
Freshcare training recognised under FSQ4 remains the same for FSQ4.1.
Freshcare trainers can be contacted to provide businesses with assistance in the new requirements and in preparation for audits in 2020.
Certification Bodies are not required to offer audits to FSQ4.1 until 1 January 2020. It will be an individual business decision and they will be using the lead-up time to upskill their audit teams in the new requirements. If you would like to go to audit to FSQ4.1 ahead of January 2020, please first check with your Certification Body and where necessary, contact Freshcare for assistance in scheduling.