MANHATTAN, KANSAS, US — Expanding the Food Defense standard to provide more guidance for a program that can be applied globally and creating a separate Regulated Food Defense standard to meet US International Adulteration requirements are among the changes incorporated by AIB International as part of its newly updated Consolidated Standards for Inspections.

The updated consolidated standards, which AIB said have been updated to incorporate “the latest industry best practices, new regulations, and food safety requirements,” will be released on July 25. Inspections against this updated version will begin Jan. 1, 2023.

Other major updates to the standards include moving written programs to the Adequacy section and dividing the Food Safety Programs standard into two separate standards for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls (HARPC), AIB International said.

“Our Consolidated Standards for Inspections were originally launched in 1956, and they quickly became the global industry standard due to their unique way of integrating, in a user-friendly, easy-to-understand format, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), common regulatory requirements, and food safety practices,” said Steve Robert, vice president of sales, marketing and product innovation at AIB International. “There is no other document on the market that provides the type of prescriptive guidance the way we do.”

The Consolidated Standards for Inspections initially were created under the title of the Prerequisite and Food Safety Programs for the food industry. Subsequently, AIB International tailored the standards to meet the requirements for an additional eight different industry segments in the food supply chain.

“By doing so, we provide each business sector with only relevant and valuable information related to their specific business,” Robert said.

As part of its latest round of updates, AIB International in 2022 updated five of its Consolidated Standards, including the Consolidated Standards for Prerequisite and Food Safety Programs, Beverage Facilities, Non-Food Contact Packaging Manufacturing Facilities, Food Contact Packaging Manufacturing Facilities, and Food Distribution Centers. The remaining Consolidated Standards will be updated in 2023, AIB International said.

AIB International said it is holding free webinars in different time zones, private sessions, and general communications to educate customers on the changes. In addition, a free copy of the updated Consolidated Standards for Inspections will be available for download on July 25.