What is ISO 22000?
ISO 22000 consolidates the requirements for managing safety and controlling risks within all parts of the food supply chain and provides commonality and best practice on a worldwide basis.
It is relevant to all parts of the food supply chain from ‘farm to table’ regardless of size and includes suppliers of non-food products and services. Its suitability for all stakeholders in the chain also makes it an ideal tool to implement Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) throughout the food supply chain.
The standard has three parts:
- references to good manufacturing practices and existing practices
- requirements for HACCP according to the HACCP principles of the Codex Alimentarius
- requirements for a management system
ISO 22000:2018 was published in June 2018. It revises and supersedes the 2005 edition of the same standard, as well as its technical corrigendum from 2006.
It specifies the general requirements of a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) and enables an organization either directly or indirectly involved in the food supply chain to plan, implement, operate and update systems for the supply of safe products and services.
The main differences between the 2018 and the 2005 edition of ISO 22000 are:
High Level Structure (HLS) – The new ISO 22000 standard implements the high-level structure that is shared with ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018. This simplifies the implementation and integration of multiple standards in an organization.
Context of the Organization – Requires an organization to determine the internal and external issues and requirements that can impact the FSMS. Makes context an important consideration which ensures that the management system is designed and suitably adapted for a specific organization.
Interested Parties – This is common with the other standards and makes it clear that an organization must understand the needs and expectations of stakeholders as they are an important part of the context of the organization.
Risk Management – Requires organization to determine, consider and, where necessary, take action to address any risks that may impact the management system to deliver its intended results.
The PDCA cycle – the standard clarifies the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, by having two separate cycles in the standard working together: one covering the food safety management system (FSMS) and the second one, covering the principles of HACCP.
The operation process – a clear description is given of the differences between key terms such as: Critical Control Points (CCPs), Operational Prerequisite Programs (OPRPs) and Prerequisite Programs (PRPs).
Separately the Codex Alimentarius and its HACCP annex was updated in 2020 and this is a summary of the changes that were made:
Definitions – these have been greatly expanded with new definitions included for acceptable level, competent authority, food hygiene system, good hygiene practices (GHPs) and prerequisite programme. The definition of ‘validation’ has been removed and replaced with ‘validation of control measures’. The action of validating a control measure means that the control measure should be capable of controlling the identified hazard.
Codex Decision Tree – A decision tree, present in the previous 2003 edition, to identify CCPs (commonly known as the Codex CCP Decision Tree) has not been included in the 2020 edition. However, Codex HACCP 2020 still makes reference to using a decision tree or an alternative method to identify critical control points (CCPs).
Training and Competence – this section has been expanded and training should now include the use and maintenance of equipment used with food, the principles of food hygiene, measures to prevent contaminants in food, good hygiene practices and corrective actions.
Food Safety Culture – One of the most significant changes is the acknowledgement that human behaviour is critical to providing safe and suitable food. This is defined by the integration of a Food Safety Culture into an organization.
Lot Identification and Traceability – The need for a product tracing system is a new requirement noted in Codex HACCP 2020.
Consumer Education – This area has been enhanced so that consumers can better understand labelling information and the following of any instructions. In particular, consumers should be made aware of the connection between time/temperature control, cross contamination, the presence of foodborne illness and of allergens.
