What is ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management System?
ISO 22000, published on 1 September 2005, is a top international standard designed to ensure the best and safest food supply chains worldwide and is the first in a family of food safety management systems. The standard has been developed within ISO/TC 34 technical committee by the best experts from the food industry, along with representatives of specialized international organizations, and in close cooperation with the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a body jointly established by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) to develop food standards. A major benefit is that ISO 22000 will make it easier for organizations worldwide to implement the Codex HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) system for food hygiene in a harmonized manner, which does not vary by country or food product concerned.
ISO 22000 combines and supplements the core elements of ISO 9001 and HACCP to provide the best framework for the development, implementation, and continual improvement of a Food Safety Management System (FSMS). ISO 22000:2005 is a top food safety management standard for organizations involved in the food chain. This standard specifies the needs for a food safety management system where an organization in the food chain needs to demonstrate its ability to control food-related hazards. Food safety is connected to the presence of food-borne hazards in food at the point of consumption. As food safety hazards can occur at any stage of the food chain, adequate control throughout the food chain is crucial. Thus, food safety is ensured through the combined efforts of all parties participating in the food chain.
Food safety is a necessary need for a healthy nation; therefore, FSMS is the basic requirement of a healthy nation, people, and society. Failures in the food supply can be unsafe and costly. ISO has developed the ISO 22000 standard for the certification of food safety management systems. The standard is intended to provide security by ensuring that there are no weak links in the food supply chain and to achieve top international harmonization in the field of food safety standards.
Food safety is a worldwide concern, and public health is a sensitive subject with a far-reaching impact on trade and business. Traditionally, the industry and regulators have depended on spot checks of manufacturing conditions and random sampling of final products to ensure safe food. This approach, however, tends to be reactive rather than preventive and can be less effective than the new system. Over time, the best food safety management system has evolved into ISO 22000:2005.
ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management System Standard Series
ISO 22000:2005, Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the food chain, and its corrigendum ISO 22000:2005/Cor1:2006, give the basic requirements for a food safety management system to ensure food safety along the food chain up to the point of final consumption.
ISO/TS 22004:2005, Food safety management systems – Guidance on the application of ISO 22000:2005, gives top guidance on the use of ISO 22000, which is based on the best principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and is designed to be applied together with relevant standards published by that organization.
ISO 22005:2007, Traceability in the feed and food chain – General principles and basic requirements for system design and implementation, gives the principles and specifies the best requirements for the design and implementation of a feed and food traceability system.
ISO/TS 22003:2007, Food safety management systems – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of food safety management systems, and ISO/IEC 17021:2006, Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems, have been developed for certification bodies and the accreditation bodies that approve them as competent. Certification of a food safety management system to ISO 22000 is not a requirement of the standard, but it is one way to provide assurance that an organization has implemented a system for the management of food safety in line with its policy.
Who can implement ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management System?
Organizations in the food chain, such as:
– Food processors and manufacturers
– Food retailers, storage facilities, and transporters
– Producers of packaging materials
– Seed and feed producers
– Farmers
– Food additive producers
– Primary producers (Agriculture, Aquaculture, Horticulture, Dairy, etc.)
– Hospitality sector – Hotels, Restaurants, Catering institutes
– Service providers to food establishments, e.g., pest control, stewarding, cleaning, etc.
– Producers of machinery, cleaning products, and other materials in contact with food
Benefits of ISO 22000 Certification
– ISO 22000 helps businesses, governments, and society by ensuring the top level of food safety.
– ISO 22000 helps organizations provide the best safe food products to consumers.
– ISO 22000 is a scientific approach to food safety management.
– It makes food safety a top responsibility for all parties in the food chain.
– It provides a competitive edge by meeting the best international standards.