ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management)

ISO 22000

(Food Safety Management)

Introduction:

• The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed the Food Safety Management System Certification: ISO 22000.
• ISO 22000 is a globally accepted international standard, which specifies the requirements for food safety management systems.
• Established in 2005, ISO 22000 is applicable to all organizations involved in the food chain, whose main objective is to ensure food safety.
• ISO 22000 sets out the requirements for a food safety management system and can be certified to it.
• It is applicable to all organizations in the food and feed industries, regardless of size or sector.
• It maps out what an organization needs to do to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe.
• It can be used by any organization regardless of its size or position in the food chain.
• Like other ISO management system standards, such as ISO 9001 (quality management), it is designed in a way that it can be integrated into an organization’s existing management processes but can also be used alone.
• Becoming certified to ISO 22000 allows a company to show their customers that they have a food safety management system in place. This provides customer confidence in the product.
• This is becoming more and more important as customers demand safe food and food processors require that ingredients obtained from their suppliers to be safe.
• ISO and its member countries used the Quality Management System approach and tailored it to apply to Food Safety, incorporating the widely used and proven HACCP principles and Good Manufacturing Principles (addressed by Prerequisite Programs in ISO 22000).
• The standard has requirements for Food Safety Management Systems processes, procedures and requires that the organization implement prerequisite programs and HACCP.
• Unlike some of the other Food Safety Management Systems Certification programs, the ISO 22000 does not have specific requirements for prerequisite programs (PRPs) but requires that the organization identifies and implements the appropriate programs.
• This makes it more flexible, and food organizations of any type can implement and be certified to ISO 22000.
• Food processors and manufacturers can use the ISO Technical Specification ISO/TS 22002-1 to develop their PRP programs.
• It outlines the requirements for PRP programs that are applicable to these organizations. The requirements outlined are widely accepted.

Requirement for ISO 22000:

• ISO 22000 requires that you build a Food Safety Management System. This means that you will have a documented system in place and fully implemented throughout your facility that includes:
• Effective Prerequisite Programs in place to ensure a clean sanitary environment
• A Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Plan developed to identify, prevent and eliminate food safety hazards,
• Established documented food safety management system processes to manage food safety throughout your organization – from management and business planning aspects to day to day communication and operations affecting food safety.

The ISO 22000 standard contains the specific requirements to be addressed by the Food Safety Management System. The standard requires food safety management system processes including:

• Having an overall Food Safety Policy for your organization, developed by top management.
• Setting objectives that will drive your companies efforts to comply with this policy.
• Planning and designing a management system and documenting the system.
• Maintaining records of the performance of the system.
• Establishing a group of qualified individuals to make up a Food Safety Team.
• Defining communication procedures to ensure effective communication with important contacts outside the company (regulatory, customers, suppliers, and others) and for effective internal communication.
• Having an emergency plan.
• Holding management review meetings to evaluate the performance of the FSMS.
• Providing adequate resources for the effective operation of the FSMS including appropriately trained and qualified personnel, sufficient infrastructure and appropriate work environment to ensure food safety.
• Implementing Prerequisite Programs.
• Following HACCP principles.
• Establishing a traceability system for the identification of the product.
• Establishing a corrective action system and control of the nonconforming product.
• Maintaining a documented procedure for handling the withdrawal of the product.
• Controlling monitoring and measuring devices.
• Establishing and maintaining and internal audit program.
• Continually updating and improving the FSMS.
• Read about these requirements in more detail at ISO 22000 Explained

Some Features of ISO 22000:

• ISO 22000 allows the development of a food safety management system by external experts for any company, and this includes implementation and verification of all or part of activities involved in the system.
• ISO 22000 also refers to good practices in sectors and general hygiene rules published by Codex Alimentarius.
• Besides the internal communication, external communication is also a condition for establishing, implementing, and updating the Food Safety Management System (FSMS) according to ISO 22000.
• ISO 22000 demands risk analysis to evaluate each food safety hazards identified.
• ISO 22000 demands documentation of control measures named prerequisite programs (PRPs).
• ISO 22000 demands monitoring system and planning of corrective actions for operational PRPs, as for CCPs.
• ISO 22000 demands analysis and improvement according to the outcome of monitoring operational PRPs and the HACCP plan.
• ISO 22000 also requires the review and identification of specifications, formulation, and origin for input and end-products.
• ISO 22000 separates and clarifies verification activities and validation activities.
• Allergen control is a required prerequisite program in ISO 22000.
• ISO 22000, new terms have been developed, such as “potentially unsafe product” and the term “withdrawal” for product recall and product recollection activities.
• ISO 22000 requires continual improvement and updating of the management system.

Benefits for business:

• ISO 22000 enables organizations to put in place a food safety management system that helps them improve their overall performance when it comes to food safety. Key potential benefits of using the standard include:
• The ability to consistently provide food-related products and services that are safe and meet regulatory requirements
• Improved management of risks in food safety processes.
• Demonstrating strong links to the United Nations’ Codex Alimentarius, which develops food safety guidelines for governments

Revised ISO standards:

• All ISO standards are reviewed and revised regularly to make sure they remain relevant to the marketplace.
• ISO 22000:2018 encompasses the latest trends and food safety requirements and is a timely response to the rising global challenges facing the food industry.
• It will also help address the growing need to ensure we can trust current food security systems and that they are sustainable.
• ISO 22000:2018 includes improvements to definitions, including those that align with Codex Alimentarius.
• It also provides a new understanding of the concept of risk, distinguishing between risk at the operational level, and the strategic level of a management system.

References:

• https://www.iso.org/iso-22000-food-safety-management.html
• http://isonepal.com/iso-22000-certification-nepal.html
• https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/store/en/PUB100430.pdf
• https://pecb.com/article/difference-between-haccp-and-iso-22000
• https://certifications.controlunion.com/en/certification-programs/certification-programs/iso-22000-food-safety-management-system