Food Safety Culture Requirements: What Changes in 2026-2027

Which dates matter for food safety culture?

Those in the table below. They come from published texts. No date has been announced for a BRCGS Food Safety Issue 10, and we give none.

What does version 2024 of the GFSI requirements change?

It anchors culture in the management system. The GFSI puts it this way in its presentation of version 2024: food safety culture has been “more firmly embedded” in food safety management programmes. Its key changes document sets out what is new and what is strengthened.

The GFSI presents this stronger focus as an alignment with the Codex Alimentarius requirements on food safety culture; more broadly, version 2024 is aligned with the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene.

The GFSI does not certify factories: these elements reach your site through your standard. On the date we checked (5 November 2026), the GFSI page of programmes undergoing benchmarking against version 2024 lists BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9, IFS Food Version 8 with its Doctrine version 5, and FSSC 22000 Version 7. They remain recognised against version 2020 (in the case of FSSC 22000, version 6), according to the page of recognised programmes. Our article on GFSI-recognised standards in 2026 reviews each programme in turn.

What does version 2.0 of the GFSI position paper say?

It updates the definition and the model without creating an audit requirement. Published on 26 March 2026, it rests on a review of more than 180 academic and professional sources. It now defines culture as a concept present in every food business, made up of deeply rooted beliefs, behaviours, values and assumptions, learned and shared by all employees, which together shape food safety performance.

The model keeps five dimensions, arranged in two tiers: the organisational foundations (company values, vision and mission; people) and the manifested cultural essentials (hazard and risk awareness; consistency; adaptability and continuous improvement). The GFSI notes that consistency and adaptability are the least studied by research.

Maturity models, diagnostic tools and interventions are, according to the GFSI, a matter for scheme owners, experts and companies. It recommends that standards build the dimensions into their definition, and that culture be assessed across all its dimensions rather than on a single indicator.

The audit texts keep the old wording. Appendix 1 of FSSC 22000 Version 7 still defines culture as “shared values, beliefs and norms”, citing GFSI “v2024”, as does the glossary of IFS Food Version 8. The new definition puts the emphasis on learned behaviours.

What does IFS Food 8 Doctrine version 5 clarify?

It clarifies what culture covers in the IFS Food glossary. According to Doctrine version 5, a food safety culture shall be established and maintained to acknowledge the importance of positive behaviour. Five elements are to be considered:

1. a demonstrable commitment from management and all personnel to the production and handling of safe food;
2. leadership that sets the right direction and engages all personnel;
3. awareness among all personnel of the importance of food hygiene;
4. open and clear communication, including on deviations and expectations;
5. sufficient resources for the effective functioning of the food hygiene system.

These elements overlap with those of GFSI version 2024: commitment of all personnel, leadership, resources. The foreword to the Doctrine sets the rule of application: new or adapted rules apply two months after publication, unless stated otherwise. In its announcement of 23 April 2026, IFS said that these doctrines would be taken into account in the GFSI recognition process, and that they were then available in English only.

Requirement 1.1.1 is unchanged: culture objectives cover at least communication about food safety policies and responsibilities, training, employee feedback and performance measurement. The other points of this Doctrine are summarised in our article on IFS Food Version 8 changes and timeline for 2026-2027.

FSSC 22000 Version 7 and BRCGS Issue 9: what changes?

For FSSC 22000, Version 7 adds two obligations to requirement 2.5.8: sufficient resources to maintain a positive culture, and a demonstrable commitment from all personnel, worded exactly like GFSI element FSM 2.1. The upgrade takes place during audits from 1 May 2027 to 30 April 2028; the steps are described in our FSSC 22000 v6 to v7 upgrade plan, and the evidence of commitment in our article on FSSC 22000 food safety culture in Version 7.

For BRCGS, the requirement remains that of Issue 9, which is in force. Requirement 1.1.2 of Issue 9 still calls for a plan for the development and continuing improvement of the food safety and quality culture, with an action plan, a review of effectiveness and an update at least annually. Issue 9 is among the programmes undergoing benchmarking against version 2024. Issue 10 is in preparation; with no published text, we do not comment on its content. See our update on current BRCGS standards.

What should you do by the end of 2027?

Update the existing plan, without rewriting it, so that it already meets all these texts:

• Reread the policy and the culture plan against the five elements of IFS Food Doctrine version 5.
  
• Write the allocated resources into the plan: budget, training time, people.
  
• Define the evidence of commitment of all personnel, seasonal and agency workers included.
  
• Check that the plan includes a culture assessment and its areas for improvement, not only actions.
  
• Record the update in the next management review.
  
• For an FSSC 22000 site, schedule the upgrade audit between 1 May 2027 and 30 April 2028.
  

The full method for a Moroccan plant is in our food safety culture guide, and measurement in our method on how to measure food safety culture.