Food Safety Standards and Certification Schemes in South Africa

FSSC 22000 Version 7 was published in May 2026 and is a free PDF download direct from fssc.com, no purchase, no membership. The scheme document itself is at https://www.fssc.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/FSSC-22000-Scheme-Version

Issue 9 remains the current issue as at September 2026, do not tell clients Issue 10 is out. The BRCGS store offers three formats on the same product page: a free PDF (registration required), an unlocked PDF at GBP157, and a print

Issue 7 was published on 28 October 2024. Same three formats as the food standard: free PDF, unlocked PDF at GBP157, or print at GBP157. For a South African packaging converter this is the direct alternative to FSSC 22000 with ISO

Issue 4 is still the current issue. Available as a free PDF, or GBP140 for the unlocked PDF or printed copy. This is the standard a South African 3PL is asked for when its customer is BRCGS certified

Published 1 October 2021, audits from 1 April 2022. Free PDF available, or GBP140 for the unlocked PDF or print. The direct competitor product is IFS Broker

SQF is owned and administered by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI, The Food Industry Association, in the United States. Every SQF code is a genuinely free download from sqfi.com, SQFI states that all stand

SQF is owned and administered by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI, The Food Industry Association, in the United States. Every SQF code is a genuinely free download from sqfi.com, SQFI states that all stand

SQF is owned and administered by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI, The Food Industry Association, in the United States. Every SQF code is a genuinely free download from sqfi.com, SQFI states that all stand

SQF is owned and administered by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI, The Food Industry Association, in the United States. Every SQF code is a genuinely free download from sqfi.com, SQFI states that all stand

SQF is owned and administered by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI, The Food Industry Association, in the United States. Every SQF code is a genuinely free download from sqfi.com, SQFI states that all stand

IFS publishes its standards as free PDFs on ifs-certification.com, there is no purchase and no membership requirement for the standard document itself. Version 8 is dated April 2023 on the cover, audits started 1 October 2023 and

Free PDF from ifs-certification.com. Cover date December 2023; audits from 1 June 2024, mandatory from 1 December 2024. The equivalent standards are BRCGS Storage and Distribution Issue 4 and the SQF Storage and Distribution code

Free PDF from ifs-certification.com. Cover date June 2021, in force since 1 October 2021. Note the version is 3.1, not 3, the plain v3 file does not exist on the IFS site. The BRCGS equivalent is Agents and Brokers Issue 3

Free PDF from ifs-certification.com. Cover date February 2024, voluntary audits from 1 July 2024, mandatory from 1 October 2024

IFA v6 is the current version and there is no v7. The single most important point for growers is that v6 exists in two parallel editions: IFA v6 Smart and IFA v6 GFS. Only IFA v6 GFS is GFSI recognised. All documents, Principles a

GLOBALG.A.P. states that IFA v6 GFS is the only aquaculture standard recognised by GFSI at primary production level. Documents are free of charge in multiple languages from the GLOBALG.A.P. document centre, with direct PDF and ZIP

ISO 22000:2018 is the current edition and costs CHF 196 from the ISO Store, it is not a free download, which is the single biggest practical difference from FSSC 22000, BRCGS, SQF, IFS and GLOBALG.A.P. ISO 22000 by itself carries

In July 2025 the ISO 22002 series was restructured and republished. The former Technical Specifications (ISO/TS 22002-x) were replaced by full International Standards, and the requirements common to every sector were pulled out in

In July 2025 the ISO 22002 series was restructured and republished. The former Technical Specifications (ISO/TS 22002-x) were replaced by full International Standards, and the requirements common to every sector were pulled out in

In July 2025 the ISO 22002 series was restructured and republished. The former Technical Specifications (ISO/TS 22002-x) were replaced by full International Standards, and the requirements common to every sector were pulled out in

In July 2025 the ISO 22002 series was restructured and republished. The former Technical Specifications (ISO/TS 22002-x) were replaced by full International Standards, and the requirements common to every sector were pulled out in

In July 2025 the ISO 22002 series was restructured and republished. The former Technical Specifications (ISO/TS 22002-x) were replaced by full International Standards, and the requirements common to every sector were pulled out in

This is the trap in the ISO 22002 series. Parts 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and the new Part 7 were all republished as full International Standards dated 2025, but Part 3 Farming was NOT revised, it remains ISO/TS 22002-3:2011, a Technical Spec

Part 7 is a new sector added in the July 2025 restructure, retail and wholesale. It did not exist in the old ISO/TS 22002 series. Paid purchase from the ISO Store; read it together with ISO 22002-100:2025

Yes, ISO 22002-100:2025 is real and it is the heart of the July 2025 restructure. It consolidates the PRP requirements that used to be repeated in every sector part into one common standard, so a site now applies ISO 22002-100 plu

The quality management system standard. A sixth edition is scheduled for publication on 16 September 2026, but nothing changes for a certified site on that date. Transition rules passed to Global Accreditation Cooperation when the

The environmental management system standard, revised in 2026. Any document still calling ISO 14001:2015 current is wrong, because it is withdrawn. An existing certificate is not void, but a roughly three year clock is running and

ISO 45001:2018 is still the current edition. A revision is in progress: ISO/DIS 45001, edition 2, is out for member ballot. Paid purchase from the ISO Store. In South Africa it is usually implemented alongside the Occupational Hea

This is the stepping stone route into GLOBALG.A.P., historically marketed under the localg.a.p. name. GLOBALG.A.P. now presents it as Primary Farm Assurance, currently PFA v6, effective 1 March 2025, with three levels. It is an as

The Global Markets Programme is GFSI's stepwise route towards recognised certification for sites that have no system yet. Toolkits for manufacturing and for primary production are free from the GFSI library, and there is a free on

SIZA is the South African ethical trade programme for agriculture, run as a subscription-based non-profit that exists to stop growers being audited five times for the same thing. The standard itself is NOT a public download: SIZA

The environmental counterpart to the SIZA Social Standard. It helps growers evaluate environmental compliance and risk both on the farm and in the wider catchment. Like the social standard it is obtained from the MySIZA platform a

SANHA is one of the main halaal certifying bodies operating in South Africa, alongside the MJC Halaal Trust, the National Independent Halaal Trust (NIHT) and the Islamic Council of South Africa. Halaal certification does not work

The MJC Halaal Trust is the halaal certification arm of the Muslim Judicial Council and is one of the longest established halaal authorities in South Africa. As with SANHA there is no versioned, downloadable standard, certificatio

NIHT is a third South African halaal certifying body worth naming alongside SANHA and the MJC Halaal Trust, and its website is publicly accessible. It publishes a directory of certified companies and an accreditation and recogniti

Kosher certification in South Africa is administered by the Beth Din under the Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa. It works on supervision rather than on a published, versioned standard, a manufacturer applies, the plant

Important currency point: the standard has been renamed and renumbered. The current farm document is the Rainforest Alliance Regenerative Agriculture Standard, Farm Requirements v10, effective 1 March 2026. Any page still citing t

The downstream counterpart to the farm standard. Supply Chain Requirements v15, effective 1 March 2026, free from the Rainforest Alliance Knowledge Hub. Read together with the annexes at https://knowledge.rainforest-alliance.org/d

South Africa has no promulgated national organic regulation in force, so a South African organic producer certifies to a foreign scheme instead, most commonly the EU organic regulation for European buyers. The full text is free on

The USDA National Organic Program regulation is free to read on the eCFR and is the rule set a South African exporter is audited against for the US organic market. As with the EU, the certificate comes from an accredited certifyin

FSSC 24000 is a social, not a food safety, scheme and is not GFSI recognised, GFSI recognition applies to FSSC 22000 only. FSSC 24000 is instead recognised by the Consumer Goods Forum's Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI).

SQF is owned and administered by the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI), a division of FMI, The Food Industry Association, in the United States. Every SQF code is a genuinely free download from sqfi.com, SQFI states that all stand

GRASP v2 has been the valid version since September 2022. It is an add-on, not a standalone certificate. All three documents, General Rules, Principles and Criteria, and checklists, are free of charge from the GLOBALG.A.P. documen

CoC v6.1 is the only valid version for certification. Released November 2022, mandatory from 1 July 2023. Documents are free from the GLOBALG.A.P. document centre

GFSI is an initiative of the Consumer Goods Forum. It is not a standard and not a certification body, it benchmarks other people's schemes so that a certificate issued under one is accepted in place of another, the 'once certified

Say this plainly to clients: South African retailers do not publish which certification schemes they require. Shoprite's public supplier page states only that suppliers are assessed on their ability to deliver quality products on

How net quantity must be declared on a prepackage, units, character heights, placement, permitted terms. This, not the Foodstuffs labelling regulations, is the legal source of net-content declaration rules. Binding on every packer

The average-quantity (three-rule) system for controlling fill quantity: sampling plans, tolerable negative errors and what a packer must do to be registered to apply the 'e' mark. Binding on packing lines and QC in every food, bev

Requirements for measuring container bottles used to sell liquids by volume. Relevant to beverage bottlers that fill to a bottle's measuring mark rather than by weight. No SABS catalogue page or edition could be confirmed

The permitted measurement tolerances that sit behind quantity control and prepackage checking. Read with SANS 289 and SANS 1841 by anyone running a checkweigher programme. No SABS catalogue page or edition could be confirmed

The numerical limits for drinking water quality in South Africa. The standard a food or beverage plant tests its incoming and process water against. Being superseded by the single-part SANS 241:2025, see the SANS 241:2025 entry

The product standard for canned seafood, composition, processing, defects and marking. Compulsory in practice for every cannery and importer of canned seafood, because VC 8014 points at whatever the current edition is

Handling, freezing, glazing, storage and marking of frozen fish and molluscs. Applies to factories, processing plants and fishing vessels. Editions 4.00 (2014), 4.01 (2018) and 4.02 (2022) are superseded

Product standard for frozen prawns, langoustines and crabs. Title confirmed from the text of VC 8031; no SABS catalogue page or edition number could be located

Harvesting, holding, packing and conveyance requirements for live lobsters. Needed by live lobster handlers and exporters

The product standard for hermetically sealed (canned) meat, process, composition and labelling. Note that canned MEAT sits under VC 8019, not VC 8014 (which is canned fish). Needed by canned meat manufacturers and importers

Defines the processed meat product categories and their compositional and microbiological requirements, the post-listeriosis standard that VC 9100 makes compulsory. Edition 4 introduced entirely new microbiological requirements. N

Requirements for detergents and cleaning chemicals used on food-contact and food-processing surfaces, the soil-removal half of a cleaning programme. Needed by chemical suppliers seeking SABS approval and by food plants specifying

Efficacy and composition requirements for sanitisers, disinfectants and detergent-disinfectants used in food processing, the microbiological half of a cleaning programme, as opposed to SANS 1828 which covers soil removal. Title wo

The entry point to the building code: classification of occupancies (a food factory is normally a class of industrial occupancy), design responsibilities and how the deemed-to-satisfy rules work. Needed by anyone building, convert

Natural and artificial lighting and ventilation requirements, the part a food premises is measured against for production-area lighting levels and extraction. Part title confirmed; edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

Soil and waste drainage design, directly relevant to floor drains, effluent runs and trapping in a wet food-processing area. Part title confirmed; edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

Sanitary disposal where there is no waterborne sewer, relevant to rural and farm-based food premises. Part title confirmed; edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

Refuse storage and removal provision for a building, the code basis for the waste yard and bin area an environmental health officer will inspect. Part title confirmed; edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

Design of potable water supply installations inside a building, including backflow protection, the standard behind a plant's potable water reticulation and hose-point protection. Edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

How pressure equipment is categorised and what conformity assessment it needs. A food or beverage plant is caught through its steam boilers and mains, retorts and autoclaves, air receivers, CO2 and nitrogen systems and ammonia ref

The rules an approved inspection authority must meet when inspecting your boiler, retort or air receiver. Useful to a plant checking that its AIA is properly appointed. Edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

Design, installation, operation and maintenance of refrigeration plant, including ammonia machine rooms, charge limits, ventilation, detection, relief and competent-person duties. This is the standard that governs an ammonia plant

Design, filling, use, storage and periodic retest of gas cylinders. Relevant to any plant holding CO2, nitrogen, oxygen, LPG or refrigerant cylinders, which is most beverage and food factories

Design and installation of industrial gas pipework, the standard behind reticulated CO2, nitrogen and compressed gas lines in a brewery, bottling plant or bakery. Edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

LPG installations, bulk tanks, cylinder stores, reticulation and appliances. Applies to bakeries, kitchens, forklift refuelling points and any plant with an LPG-fired boiler or oven. Edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

Design, installation and testing of medical gas and vacuum pipeline systems. The one clearly pharmaceutical/healthcare-facing SANS made binding by the Pressure Equipment Regulations. Edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue

The wiring code every electrical installation must satisfy before a Certificate of Compliance can be issued, including a factory's production areas and wash-down zones. Edition not confirmed on the SABS catalogue; the incorporated

Product standard for natural mineral and spring water bottled from a borehole or spring. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

Product standard for sterilized (including UHT) milk. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

Product standard for pasteurized milk. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

Product standard for food grade salt, including purity and iodation. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

The South African standard against which a HACCP system is designed and audited. The HACCP Regulations (R.908 of 2003, as amended) make a HACCP system compulsory for designated food categories but do NOT incorporate SANS 10330, so

ISO 22000:2018 adopted identically as a South African national standard. The certifiable food safety management system standard used across food and beverage manufacturing. Buy the SANS version if you want the SABS-published text

The prerequisite programme specification that pairs with SANS/ISO 22000 for food manufacturers and underpins FSSC 22000 certification. Published as a SATS (technical specification), not a SANS. Needed by any manufacturer certifyin

Prerequisite programmes for food transport and storage, the companion to SATS 22002-1 for distribution and warehousing operations. SABS confirms publication but no catalogue page or edition number could be confirmed

The South African prerequisite-programme and hygiene management standard, premises, layout, water, cleaning, pest control, personal hygiene, training. The working GMP baseline for a local food factory. Number, edition and year are

ISO 9001:2015 adopted as a South African national standard. Frequently required by retail and export customers alongside a food safety certification

Manufacturing requirements for soft drink concentrates and cordials. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

Production requirements for sorghum beer, the one distinctly South African beverage standard SABS lists. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

Product standard for edible oils. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

Product standard for edible gelatine, relevant to confectionery, dairy dessert and capsule manufacturers. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

Product standard for bottled tomato sauce. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed

How to apply Part 1, risk assessment, monitoring frequency and verification of a drinking water supply. Number, edition and year are confirmed on the SABS store; confirm the exact title wording on the catalogue page

The revision that collapses SANS 241-1 and SANS 241-2 into a single risk-based document covering limits, risk assessment, monitoring, verification and incident response. The draft for public comment (SABS/TC 147, Water) is titled

Product standard for prepared, purified and blended packaged waters. Title taken from the SABS food and water products page; edition not confirmed