Increasing confidence throughout the food chain with ISO 22000 Certification.
These days gaining ISO 22000 Certification will almost certainly enhance an organizations’ business reputation. 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 food safety management system that enhances food safety performance and communication.There is now far more acknowledgement of the virtues of the ISO 22000 food safety management system standard.
Regardless of your organisations size or whether you supply products or services ISO 22000 food safety management system certification is appropriate.The standard requires you to aim to achieve Customer Satisfaction through implementation of your Food Safety Management System.The ISO 22000 standard includes elements that require you to monitor and measure your food safety processes and seek continual improvement.
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.Food safety management system documents should have a practical use in either for communication, knowledge sharing or provide evidence that the food safety processes are conforming to requirements. 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..ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System section 4 requires that you have a documented food safety management system and have procedures in place to control documents and records.
Section 5 requires the quality management system to include a Food Safety Policy and for Senior Management to demonstrate Management Commitment, allocate Responsibility and Authority, and conduct Management Reviews. 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.
ISO 22000 Section 8 outlines the requirement to validate, verify and improve the food safety management system. 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.
