What FSSC 22000 Version 6 changes for your site

Version 6 of the FSSC 22000 scheme tightened several additional requirements and brought the scheme into line with the latest GFSI benchmarking. If your site is certified, the transition is not optional — and the evidence auditors expect is more specific than it used to be.

Where sites are being caught out

• Food safety culture. A written plan is no longer enough on its own; auditors look for objectives, activities and some measure of whether they worked.
• Quality control. Version 6 extends the requirement beyond food safety into quality parameters and their verification.
• Equipment management. A documented purchase specification and a change-management procedure for new equipment.
• Food loss and waste. A policy and objectives covering product that does not reach its intended use.

Preparing the evidence

Work backwards from the audit. For each additional requirement, decide which record demonstrates it, who owns that record, and how often it is produced. A requirement with no owner and no routine output is the one that fails.

Run an internal audit against the new clauses specifically, rather than folding them into your usual schedule — the gaps tend to sit precisely where the standard changed.