Increasing confidence throughout the food chain with ISO 22000 Certification.
Believe it or not you can now add value to your business by gaining ISO 22000 Certification. The ISO 22000 standard has now been approved as part of the Food Safety System Certification scheme by the Global Food Safety Initiative. ISO 22000 Certification requires a process approach to developing a food safety management system and improving your performance.The ISO 22000:2005 food safety management system standard is now getting the recognition it deserves as a tool in improving food safety throughout the food chain.
Any size of organisation providing products or services will find ISO 22000 certification of it’s food safety management system useful.The standard requires you to aim to achieve Customer Satisfaction through implementation of your Food Safety Management System.The requirement to measure the effectiveness of your food safety tasks and activities and taking action to improve is clearly defined in the ISO 22000 standard.
In order to achieve ISO 22000 Certification an organization should have a documented food safety management system and not a system of food safety documents.Your food safety management system documentation should be used for communication, demonstrating due diligence and sharing experience or information. Food safety management system ddocuments may be in any form or type of medium and the guidance in ISO 22004:2004 clause 4.2 gives paper, electronic or picture as examples but states in any valid form. In order to achieve ISO 22000 certification of its food safety management system an organization needs to address key elements of the standard.The main sections of the ISO 22000 standard are Food Safety Management System, Management Responsibility, Resource Management, Planning and Realization of safe Products, Validation, Verification and Improvement.In order to meet the requirements of ISO 22000 section 4 procedures for the control of records and documents as well as a documented food safety procedures should be included in the quality management system.
The Management Responsibility elements of the standard include the requirements for management commitment and review, a Food Safety Policy, and defined levels of responsibility and authority within the organisation. ISO 22000 clause 5.6 requires an organisation to ensure that sufficient information on issues concerning food safety is available throughout the food chain by establishing, implementing and maintaining effective arrangements for communication, by designated personnel, with suppliers and contractors, customers or consumers, statutory and regulatory authorities, other organizations that have an impact on the food safety management system. ISO 22000 Clause 5.6.1 requires an organisation to establish and maintain effective internal communication with personnel on issues having an impact on food safety and the food safety team to be informed in a timely manner of changes that may affect the food safety management system.
The ISO 22000 Resource Management Section includes clauses for resources, human resources and training, infrastructure and work environment. The planning and development of the processes needed for the realization of safe products is a general requirement of ISO 22000 section 7.
In order to conduct a hazard analysis ISO 22000 specifies a requirement for preliminary information. This information includes a food safety team, prerequisite programmes, characteristics of raw materials, ingredients and product contact materials, description of end products, intended use, flow diagrams, process steps and control measures. ISO 22000 requires that in conducting a hazard analysis an organisation needs to establish operational prerequisite programmes (PRPs), establish the HACCP plan then update the preliminary information. ISO 22000 Section 7 also has requirements for verification planning, a traceability system and control of nonconformity.
The requirement to validate, verify and improve the food safety management system is described in ISO 22000 section 8. The food safety team are required to plan and implement processes to validate control measure combinations, control of monitoring and measuring including calibration, then verify the food safety management system by methods including internal audit, evaluation of individual verification results and analysis of results of verification activities. The last requirements are to continually improve and update the food safety management system.
ISO 22000 Certification should now be viewed as an opportunity for an organization to clearly demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe for human consumption.ISO 22000 certification should now be viewed as an opportunity for your food safety management system to focus on your food safety objectives, increase confidence in your products and systems throughout the food chain and increase customer satisfaction.
