GFSI Conference 2026 in Vancouver: Food Safety Culture Position Paper v2.0 and the New 5-Dimensional Model

On March 24–26, 2026, Vancouver hosted the 25th GFSI Conference. On March 26, GFSI released the Food Safety Culture Position Paper v2.0 — the first update in 8 years, with a new 5-dimensional model.

The 25th anniversary GFSI Conference brought over 600 executives from 40+ countries to the Vancouver Convention Centre under the theme “Food Safety is Everybody's Business”. The headline event of the week was the March 26 release — the new edition of the Food Safety Culture Position Paper, the first update since 2018.

For Ukrainian producers preparing for certification under FSSC 22000, BRCGS or IFS, the document sets the reference through which auditors will read culture clauses in the next certification cycle.

The first edition (2018) was leadership-centric — it laid the foundation for culture requirements in CPO schemes: FSSC 22000 v6 (Additional Requirement 2.5.7), BRCGS Issue 9 (clause 1.1.2), IFS Food v8 (Senior Management Responsibility). Over 8 years, academic research, post-incident case studies, and audit data accumulated — and GFSI decided that a soft “leadership artefact” was no longer enough.

The second edition (March 2026) is fundamentally different. According to food-safety.com and newfoodmagazine.com, the new model draws on 180+ academic and industry sources. Culture is reframed from a “soft concept” into a measurable and actionable critical determinant — something that can be measured, tracked over time, and improved with a concrete action plan.

In parallel, GFSI announced an organizational refocus: the 2026–2028 priorities are Stakeholder Engagement and Digital Certificate Registry. Capability Building and Auditor Training are paused — they will be transferred to partner organizations.

GFSI proposes a two-layer “wheel model”: 2 foundational dimensions (Organizational Culture Foundations) and 3 manifestation dimensions (Manifested Cultural Essentials). All 5 dimensions work as an interconnected system, not a checklist — weakness in any one will show up in shop-floor behavior, even if documentation is flawless.

Here is exactly what each dimension includes — in a format that fits easily into a gap-analysis matrix.

The model does not discard v1, it refines the structure. All previous culture programs built on v1 should be reframed, not reset. If you have a culture excellence plan under BRCGS Issue 9 — it is not headed for the bin, but it needs a review against the two-layer wheel model.

Key differences:

• Number of dimensions. v1 (2018) — 4 dimensions in a flat list: Vision/Mission, People, Consistency, Adaptability. v2 (2026) — 5 dimensions across 2 layers: Foundations + Manifested. Hazard Awareness is broken out as a separate third dimension (previously dissolved between People and Consistency).
• Structure. Instead of a flat list — a two-layer wheel model: Foundations describe “what the company is”, Manifested describe “how this shows up in behavior”. Auditors will look for evidence of both layers separately.
• Evidence base. v1 relied on expert consultation; v2 — on 180+ academic sources.
• Approach. v1 — a “soft concept”, culture as a leadership artefact. v2 — a “critical determinant”, culture as a measurable component of the system.
• Integration. v1 treated culture as parallel to HACCP/FSSC; v2 recommends an integrated systems-and-culture approach — culture is measured through the same management cycles as product safety.

GFSI benchmarks private certification schemes — the new Position Paper becomes the reference for CPO schemes. The expected cascade window is 12 months, but in practice auditors will start using v2.0 as a reference even before official scheme updates.

• FSSC 22000 v6 (mandatory since April 2024). Additional Requirement 2.5.7 “Food Safety and Quality Culture” already requires a plan, KPIs, and monitoring. In v7 (expected Q1–Q2 2026), KPIs will be rewritten against the 5-dimensional model — see our article on FSSC 22000 v7 for the full context.
• BRCGS Issue 9 (since February 2023). Clause 1.1.2 — a culture excellence plan with 4 elements. Issue 10 (expected ~2027) will be aligned with the 5-dimensional model. BRCGS auditors are already asking how your culture excellence plan maps onto the two-layer structure.
• IFS Food v8 (since 2023). Senior Management Responsibility — culture commitment. Alignment through benchmarking ~12 months.
• SQF Edition 9. Element 2.1.1 — culture program. Cascade expected in the v9.x update.
• ISO 22000:2018. Not a GFSI scheme, but clause 5 “Leadership and commitment” is the closest analog. The standard itself is not changing, but auditors will interpret “leadership” through a GFSI lens. If you are on ISO 22000 and considering the move to FSSC — our comparison guide helps you decide.

Practical takeaway: holders of any GFSI certificate need to rebuild their culture program against v2.0 within a year, without waiting for official scheme updates.

GFSI is firm: culture must be “measurable, actionable, and continuously improved”. Not one metric — but multiple indicators across both layers of the wheel model. Below is a KPI set you can drop into the next quarter's management review.

KPIs for Layer 1 (Foundations):

• Share of employees who can quote the company's food safety mission — annual employee survey, baseline 60 % → target 90 % over 12 months.
• Number of leadership walks per quarter, with documented observations and follow-up actions (target: 1 walk per shift supervisor per month).
• Time it takes a worker to escalate risk to management — quarterly mystery audit (target ≤ 15 minutes).

KPIs for Layer 2 (Manifested):

• Hazard Awareness: % correct answers in toolbox-talk quizzes (target ≥ 85 %); near-miss reports per FTE per month (target ≥ 0.3 — a healthy culture reports rather than hides).
• Consistency: behavioral observation deviation across shifts (target ≤ 10 % gap); CCP-compliance rate by shift (target ≥ 99 %).
• Adaptability: corrective-action closure time (target ≤ 30 days); number of lessons learned implemented per quarter; time from near-miss to procedure update.

Baseline-measurement toolkit:

• Annual culture survey (Likert scale, 20–30 questions, 5 dimensions);
• Behavioral observation programme (weekly, 5–10 checkpoints per shift);
• Document review + interviews (annual, ideally 3rd party — to avoid HR bias);
• Trend dashboards in management review — culture KPIs alongside product safety KPIs.

If you have never measured culture quantitatively — the starting point is a diagnostic food safety culture audit that delivers a baseline in 2–3 weeks.

A realistic schedule for rebuilding the culture program — three months from the first read of the PDF to the first management review against the updated KPIs.

Days 1–30 (April 2026): diagnostic and gap analysis

• Download the Position Paper v2.0 PDF from mygfsi.com; read it together with HR + quality + production.
• Build a gap analysis of the current culture program against the 5-dimensional model (matrix: current state / target state / actions).
• Run a pulse survey among employees (10–15 questions) — capture a baseline at project start.
• Assign a process owner: one person alone will not pull it off.

Days 31–60 (May 2026): document redesign

• Update the culture policy and culture plan against the two-layer structure (Foundations + Manifested).
• Define KPIs for each of the 5 dimensions — concrete numbers, not “striving for excellence”.
• Integrate culture KPIs into management-review inputs — alongside product safety KPIs, not as a separate report.
• Prepare a communication pack for shift supervisors: a one-page summary plus a 30-minute presentation.

Days 61–90 (June 2026): pilot + training

• Run a training cycle for middle management — 2-hour sessions per dimension, with cases drawn from your own production.
• Pilot behavioral observation on one line — 4 weeks, daily logging of 10 checkpoints per shift.
• First management review with the new KPIs — and an honest look at what still needs work.
• Internal audit of the culture system before the CB's next surveillance audit.

If you are building a food safety team for the first time — we recommend running it in parallel with the 90-day plan, since this team will own the culture KPIs.

Not everyone equally — the new model hits in specific spots.

• Large EU exporters. Tesco, REWE, Carrefour are rolling v2.0 into supplier audit programmes the fastest. If you sit in the supplier portfolio of a major EU retailer, expect questions on the two-layer structure in the next audit cycle.
• FSSC 22000 v6 certificate holders. Culture KPIs have been mandatory since 2024, but their collection format will be rewritten under v7. Existing KPIs will not disappear — they need to be redistributed across the 5 dimensions.
• BRCGS Issue 9 candidates. New auditors are trained on v2.0; even before Issue 10, your culture excellence plan will be read through the new lens.
• Agro and processing. The largest effect comes via long supply chains — supplier-mandated culture evidence flows from the retailer down to the farmer through 2–3 tiers.
• Small producers under retailer audit. Formal certification may not be there, but the retailer will still demand evidence.

For context on what GFSI means in the coordinate system of a Ukrainian producer — see our basic GFSI guide.

We have been supporting culture program implementation projects for FSSC 22000, BRCGS, and IFS certificate holders since 2020. For adaptation to the Position Paper v2.0, we offer four distinct engagement formats:

• Culture-readiness diagnostic audit — gap against the 5-dimensional model, team pulse survey, baseline report in 2–3 weeks. The starting point if you have not yet defined the scope of work.
• Turnkey culture program implementation — from policy and culture plan to a KPI dashboard and a training pack for middle management. Closes the 90-day plan in full.
• Audit-support preparation — a culture-evidence pack for CB and retailer audits, rehearsal of the auditor interview, answers to typical questions on the two-layer wheel model.
• Annual support — maintenance of culture metrics between surveillance audits, procedure updates against the upcoming FSSC v7 and BRCGS Issue 10 releases.

For companies certifying for the first time, we recommend building the culture program against v2.0 from day one — to avoid rebuilding it within 12 months.

• GFSI Food Safety Culture Position Paper v2.0 (PDF)
• GFSI Conference — official events page
• Food Safety Magazine, “GFSI Unveils Updated Food Safety Culture Framework” — food-safety.com
• New Food Magazine, “GFSI launches updated framework to strengthen global food safety culture” — newfoodmagazine.com
• Food Safety Works, “GFSI Food Safety Culture Guidelines 2026 Update” — foodsafetyworks.com
• BRCGS Industry Update April 2026 — brcgs.com

Need expert support implementing the changes covered above? Contact the Ekontrol team for a free consultation.