ISO 22003-1:2022 is the international standard for Food safety — Part 1: Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of food safety management systems. The new version was released in December 2022.

As per IAF a three-year transition period will be allowed for this new edition in addition to the certain timelines set by IAF in IAF MD 27, see below:

IAF MD 27: 2023 – Transition Requirements for ISO 22003-1:2022, this document provides information on transition requirements of normative documents ISO/TS 22003:2013 to ISO 22003-1:2022 to be followed by IAF MLA signatory accreditation bodies and accredited CBs (Management System Certification Bodies), with the scope as detailed in this document. The document is mandatory for all IAF MLA Signatory Accreditation Bodies and accredited MSCBs, and the transition time allowed by IAF is 3 years from the date of publication of ISO 22003-1:2022.

While the ISO/TS 22003:2013 will remain valid during the three-year transition period.

Following the above timelines and guidance GAC requires that all its existing accredited MSCBs are smoothly transitioned to the newer standard ISO 22003-1:2022 by 31st December 2024.

From 1st January 2024, GAC will no longer accept applications under the previous standard ISO/TS 22003:2013, while GAC is now accepting the applications under the newly published standard ISO 22003-1:2022 as of Jan 2024.