diff --git a/src/sdg/organisaties/views/notificaties.py b/src/sdg/organisaties/views/notificaties.py
index f012d3751..5138ad5ce 100644
--- a/src/sdg/organisaties/views/notificaties.py
+++ b/src/sdg/organisaties/views/notificaties.py
@@ -47,13 +47,7 @@ def get(self, request, *args, **kwargs):
         # Call the parent class's get method to fetch the queryset
         response = super().get(request, *args, **kwargs)
 
-        # Get or create the NotificationViewed instance for the current user
-        notification_viewed, create = NotificationViewed.objects.get_or_create(
-            gebruiker=request.user
-        )
-
-        # Update the last_viewed_date to the current time
-        notification_viewed.last_viewed_date = timezone.now()
-        notification_viewed.save()
+        # Update or create the NotificationViewed instance for the current user
+        NotificationViewed.objects.update_or_create(gebruiker=request.user)
 
         return response
diff --git a/src/sdg/producten/migrations/0060_alter_notificationviewed_last_viewed_date.py b/src/sdg/producten/migrations/0060_alter_notificationviewed_last_viewed_date.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a91b7a576
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sdg/producten/migrations/0060_alter_notificationviewed_last_viewed_date.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Generated by Django 3.2.23 on 2024-11-15 16:33
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("producten", "0059_notificationviewed"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name="notificationviewed",
+            name="last_viewed_date",
+            field=models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True),
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/src/sdg/producten/models/notification.py b/src/sdg/producten/models/notification.py
index 701cc4ecf..c1286e92e 100644
--- a/src/sdg/producten/models/notification.py
+++ b/src/sdg/producten/models/notification.py
@@ -1,15 +1,12 @@
 from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
 from django.db import models
-from django.utils import timezone
 
 User = get_user_model()
 
 
 class NotificationViewed(models.Model):
     gebruiker = models.OneToOneField(User, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
-    last_viewed_date = models.DateTimeField(null=True, blank=True)
+    last_viewed_date = models.DateTimeField(auto_now=True)
 
     def __str__(self):
-        return (
-            f"{self.gebruiker} - Notification last viewed on: {self.last_viewed_date}"
-        )
+        return f"User: {self.gebruiker_id} - Notification last viewed on: {self.last_viewed_date}"
diff --git a/src/sdg/templates/navigation/nav_item.html b/src/sdg/templates/navigation/nav_item.html
index bf1ed9360..4bc95ede7 100644
--- a/src/sdg/templates/navigation/nav_item.html
+++ b/src/sdg/templates/navigation/nav_item.html
@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@
       {% if blank_target %}target="_blank" rel="noopener"{% endif %}
     >
         {{title}}
-        {% if icon %}{{icon}}{% endif %}
+        {% if icon and show_icon %}{{icon}}{% endif %}
     </a>
 </li>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/sdg/templates/navigation/navigation.html b/src/sdg/templates/navigation/navigation.html
index fbf3f950b..f0a99aaf3 100644
--- a/src/sdg/templates/navigation/navigation.html
+++ b/src/sdg/templates/navigation/navigation.html
@@ -29,11 +29,7 @@
                 
         {# Show new notification icon if has_new_notifications is True #}    
         {% url 'notificaties' as notification_url %}
-        {% if has_new_notifications %}
-        {% nav_item title=_('Notificaties') href=notification_url icon='<i class="fa fa-circle-exclamation accent"></i>' %}
-        {% else %}
-        {% nav_item title=_('Notificaties') href=notification_url %}
-        {% endif %}
+        {% nav_item title=_('Notificaties') href=notification_url icon='<i class="fa fa-circle-exclamation accent"></i>' show_icon=has_new_notifications %}
         
         {% if siteconfig.documentatie_link %}
         {% nav_item title=siteconfig.documentatie_titel|capfirst|default:_("Documentatie") href=siteconfig.documentatie_link blank_target=True id="documentation" %}
diff --git a/src/sdg/utils/context_processors.py b/src/sdg/utils/context_processors.py
index af780f3bd..386a07d8a 100644
--- a/src/sdg/utils/context_processors.py
+++ b/src/sdg/utils/context_processors.py
@@ -32,23 +32,22 @@ def settings(request):
 
 
 def has_new_notifications(request):
-    if request.user and request.user.is_anonymous is not True:
-        # Get the user's NotificationViewed instance
-        try:
-            notification_viewed = NotificationViewed.objects.get(gebruiker=request.user)
-        except NotificationViewed.DoesNotExist:
-            notification_viewed = None
+    user = request.user
+    has_new_notifications = False
 
-        # Get the last_viewed_date from data
+    if user and user.is_anonymous is not True:
         try:
+            notification_viewed = NotificationViewed.objects.get(gebruiker=user)
             last_viewed_date = notification_viewed.last_viewed_date
-        except AttributeError:
-            # default last_viewed_date is 12 months ago
+        except NotificationViewed.DoesNotExist:
+            notification_viewed = None
+            # By default, the last_viewed_date is set to 12 months ago.
             last_viewed_date = now() - relativedelta(months=12)
 
-        # Get the latest product version after the last_viewed_date else None.
+        # Get the latest product versie (notifications are based on ProductVersie) later than last_viewed_date.
         latest_notification = (
-            ProductVersie.objects.filter(
+            ProductVersie.objects.select_related("product")
+            .filter(
                 product__referentie_product=None,
                 gewijzigd_op__gt=last_viewed_date,
             )
@@ -56,17 +55,8 @@ def has_new_notifications(request):
             .first()
         )
 
-        # Check if there is a new notification
-        has_new = latest_notification is not None
-
-        return {
-            "has_new_notifications": has_new,
-            "latest_notification_date": (
-                latest_notification.gewijzigd_op if latest_notification else None
-            ),
-        }
+        has_new_notifications = bool(latest_notification)
 
     return {
-        "has_new_notifications": False,
-        "latest_notification_date": None,
+        "has_new_notifications": has_new_notifications,
     }
diff --git a/src/sdg/utils/templatetags/utils.py b/src/sdg/utils/templatetags/utils.py
index 635f3f140..bf54c53f6 100644
--- a/src/sdg/utils/templatetags/utils.py
+++ b/src/sdg/utils/templatetags/utils.py
@@ -178,6 +178,7 @@ def nav_item(context, href, title, **kwargs):
         - icon, can be an <i> element.
         - id, set an id on the <a> element
         - blank_target, set the target to `_blank`
+        - show_icon, boolean to render the icon
     """
 
     request = context.get("request")
@@ -194,6 +195,7 @@ def check_active_link():
 
     # Get kwargs vars.
     icon = kwargs.get("icon", None)
+    show_icon = kwargs.get("show_icon", None)
     id = kwargs.get("id", None)
     blank_target = kwargs.get("blank_target", False)
 
@@ -203,6 +205,7 @@ def check_active_link():
         "href": href,
         "title": title,
         "icon": icon,
+        "show_icon": show_icon,
         "blank_target": blank_target,
         "id": id,
         "active_link": active_link,