ISO 22000 is the food safety management system (FSMS) that can be applied to any organization in the food chain, from farm to fork. Becoming ISO 22000 certified or registered, prospective clients ask for either term, which can lead to decreased liability and legal fees, and provide trust in food supplies.
At ISO 22000 Certificate, food safety is a dedication to man, machine, and method. At the plant, good harmonious personal and workplace hygiene results in good manufacturing practices, and these result in the never-ending quest for good housekeeping. Preventing contamination from foreign substances, including maintenance materials or any substances from the employee's non-work environment, is realized through policies, procedures, and processes to enable efficient management and planning.
Key Principles of ISO 22000 FSMS
The Food Safety Management System (FSMS) specifies the requirements to enable a food organization to control hazards in its food supply chain. By controlling food hazards, a food organization can ensure that the food is safe for its consumers. The FSMS integrates the requirements of Risk Management Standard with the operating conditions of a Food Safety Management System for all sizes and sectors of the food industry.
The Food Safety Management System (FSMS) adopts a systematic approach to food safety management to protect consumers from unintentional food safety hazards by applying the following principles:
The FSMS shall use a risk management structure for the identification and control of food-related hazards. Hazard analysis shall be the starting point for the development of control plans for identifying the standards, policies, and programs that are required to control the hazards. Application of the preventive approach towards controlling food safety hazards is essential. Implement a system to ensure that food is safe to feed. Implement a specific action plan for any food safety hazard that is likely to occur. Follow all the requirements, procedures, and performance standards to ensure compliance with food safety laws and regulations. Continuously improve the FSMS to maintain its suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness. Establish communication between the organization and stakeholders to establish food safety policies and goals and send feedback on performance. Ensure that laws and regulations applicable to food safety processes are respected and complied with through certification, licensing, or registration.
Benefits of Obtaining ISO 22000 Certification
ISO 22000 certification enhances food safety credibility, facilitating consumer trust and assurance. It helps organizations streamline processes, leading to improved operational efficiency and reduced costs. Furthermore, ISO 22000 certification enables companies to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace by meeting customer expectations for safety standards.
The standard encourages adherence to international best practices, thereby enhancing overall compliance. Enhanced communication and collaboration along the supply chain are also significant benefits highlighted in this section. Additionally, organizations often experience reduced liability risks and improved employee morale as a result of established safety protocols. Collectively, these advantages underscore the strategic value of pursuing ISO 22000 certificate.
Obtaining ISO 22000 certification provides several benefits for organizations in the food industry. For instance, showing the internationally accepted standards of ISO 22000 enhances an organization's credibility in terms of food safety, reassuring consumers that they can trust the products they purchase.
Furthermore, organizations often benefit from adopting system management approaches as outlined in the ISO 22000 principles in that they can increase their operational efficiency by streamlining the way food is held, run, and moved through the supply chain. These improvements typically lead to lowered costs for an organization as well. In many cases, certification can offer a strategic advantage in the marketplace because it enables organizations to meet the needs and expectations of customers who may require certification.
The development and implementation of ISO 22000 systems also facilitate a global knowledge of food safety issues and best practices. This can also help an organization demonstrate commitment to good practice and high food safety and management levels and, most importantly, maintain compliance.
Process of Obtaining ISO 22000 FSMS Certification
The first step towards obtaining the ISO 22000 FSMS certificate is to prepare a detailed plan explaining how the organization will implement each of the FSMS elements. Once the organization has a current food safety management system in place, it can conduct a gap analysis to identify what steps may be required to amend and update the current system to meet new ISO 22000 standards. The next step is to ensure that employees and management understand ISO 22000 FSMS, the value of implementing it, and most importantly, what it will take to gain some form of commitment from top management.
It should be a simple task for some organizations to develop a training program on food safety for employees, as it can sometimes be a mandatory requirement of initial food safety certification. The key to knowing that system implementation has been successful is through appropriate documentation. The effectiveness of the system depends on how well the organization records all food safety information. Documentation may include, but is not limited to, records of quality review meetings, traceability data, and details of supplier complaints.
The third step involved in gaining the ISO 22000 certificate is contracting a certification body to undertake a full audit of the organization's food safety management system. This audit will take place to determine whether the organization meets the requirements of ISO 22000. Once the finalization of the audit has occurred and the final report has been generated and discussed, the organization will be awarded certification if successful.
The certification will entitle the organization to use the certification logo for a period of three years. As long as the organization meets the ISO 22000 FSMS requirements in relation to registration and standard implementation, it can maintain its certification. To help organizations maintain a structure and ensure that the requirements of the standard continue to be met, regular surveillance audits are to be performed.
This further ensures that an organization is not only certified under ISO 22000 but maintains the intent of the food safety standard.
Maintaining ISO 22000 Certification
To keep your ISO 22000 certification, your organization will need to undergo regular assessments to ensure that you are compliant and that your Food Safety Management System (FSMS) remains up to date and continually improves. All of the above ISO 22000 FSMS principles must be consistently applied. This makes preparedness, up-to-date information, and a system that is user-friendly, unambiguous, and communicative a necessity.
The Food Safety Management System is a living system that needs to be flexible and planned, and controlled by careful monitoring and measurement. In-built with the system is a strong emphasis on communication and continual improvement. This standard requires that all organizations monitor their food safety management practices and implement corrections where local requirements have changed, where the organization wishes to raise the bar, or where the results of audits or evaluations show that there are shortcomings.
The ISO 22000 standard also identifies the need for monitoring because of the unavailability of international regulatory guidelines on PRP programs and HACCP plans; local regulatory requirements applicable to the food sector and location; the need to adapt the FSMS with regard to good manufacturing, good farming, and good distribution practices; operation of the international ISO 22000 FSMS standard in conjunction with a HACCP system or the Quality Management System based on ISO 9001. Internal audits should be conducted at regular intervals to ensure that the FSMS is still operating effectively and is consistent with the organization’s policies.
Ignoring FSMS-related improvements and your lack of communication to employees would also be identified. Food safety improvements are a continuous development program covering food safety communication; structure of FSMS; the outcome of food safety-related audits; follow-up actions in response to non-conformities; compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements; food safety awareness and employee training programs; and addressing food safety deficits with operational control and effectiveness to minimize food safety risk.
