Fundamental Guidelines for Fresh Produce Food Safety
The Fresh Produce Safety Centre is proud to announce the release of the Fundamental Guidelines for Fresh Produce Food Safety version 5, 2025 – a refreshed, science-based framework to help the fresh produce industry manage food safety risks from production through to post-harvest handling. Developed through extensive scientific review and consultation with industry, these Fundamental Guidelines reflect the latest evidence, good practices and regulatory alignment to support the continued safety and integrity of fresh produce in Australia and New Zealand.
The Fundamental Guidelines are designed for all businesses across the fresh produce supply chain regardless of size, crop or complexity. They provide practical, HACCP-based insights to help businesses identify and manage food safety hazards, implement good practices and continuously improve.
These Fundamental Guidelines are accompanied by Quick Guides for Fresh Produce Food Safety which provide a user-friendly summary for day to day use by growers and team members. The ‘Quick Guides’ enable rapid identification of key hazards and practices for each management area. They have been developed using the same structure as these Fundamental Guidelines so users can easily find more information on a topic.
Key Updates in 2025:
- New chapters on Managing Critical Incident and Recalls, as well as Food Safety Culture
- Additional Appendices:
- Appendix 02: Food Safety Regulation and Assurance Programmes
- Appendix 04: The Use and Significance of Faecal Indicator Bacteria
- Enhanced guidance on water quality criteria and microbial testing protocols
- Updated content and layout for improved usability
- Updated visuals including refreshed images, figures and decision trees
- Development of complementary Quick Guides for Fresh Produce Food Safety.
The Fundamental Guidelines can be downloaded as a complete PDF, or individually by Chapter. Simply click on the chapter thumbnail.
If you have any difficulty downloading files, please contact FPSC’s Communications Officer: events@fpsc-anz.com.
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The Fundamental Guidelines and Quick Guides review was funded by HN21000 through Hort Innovation Frontiers with co-investment from FPSC-ANZ, industry partners and contributions from the Australian Government.