Food Safety Management System – ISO 22000
The ISO 22000 family of international standards addresses food safety management system that integrates the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) system.
ISO 22000 is a generic part of 22000 family series which develops strategic guidelines for food safety management system and can be certified to. This standard system helps to map out what an organization need to do to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that the food is safe. This standard can be used in any size of organizations which deals large range of producers including feed, primary producers, food manufacturers, transport and storage operators, retail and food service outlets, producers of equipment, packaging material, cleaning agents, additives and ingredients. Service providers are also included.
The fundamental principle of the standard is to “plan, design, implement, operate, maintain and update a food safety management system aimed at providing products that, according to their intended use, are safe for the consumer”.
Why ISO 22000 certification?
Having your food safety management system independently certified to ISO 22000 will provide a management system framework to bring together the tools, techniques, process control and regulatory requirements for ensuring food safety. The main benefits include:
Benefits of ISO 22000
- It provides assurance that is widely accepted by buyers to demonstrate your commitment to rigorous food safety practices.
- It helps to meet the requirements supported by suppliers and retailers who wish to promote improved food safety
- Implementing FSMS guidelines will ensure the legal compliance and improved risk management
- It will help to increase the range of new business opportunities and meet contractual obligations
- It helps to provide third party validation of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) plan.
Who needs ISO 22000?
This management system can be used at all stages of the food supply chain, from primary producers, through manufacturers, storage and transportation operations to retail and food service outlets, giving a common framework as well as a system that is internationally recognized. With correlation between the requirements of both ISO 22000 and ISO 9001, integration of the management systems is a real possibility.