-- to ensure that the organization
conforms to its stated food safety policy,
-- to demonstrate such conformity to relevant
interested parties, and
-- to seek certification or registration of its
food safety management system by an external organization,
or make a self-assessment or self-declaration
of conformity to ISO 22000:2005.
ISO 22000:2005 was published by
ISO (The International Organization for Standardization)
on the 1st of September 2005. The standard was
published in response to 15 countries, among them
Denmark, US & UK, interested in the creation
and realization of a standard to ensure safe food
supply chains worldwide.
ISO 22000 will exert influence in both directions
of the food chain as we know it, but there will
also be focus on other interested parties, including
public authorities and both customers and suppliers
of the food industry.
Four Key Elements
• Management, Including Policy, Obligation,
Organization and Resources: The contents of the
standard includes a corporate requirement to demonstrate
effective internal communication within the company,
and that the management should lead the way in
doing this. There are also demands regarding communication
to both suppliers and customers. This includes
a definition of the systems necessary to ensure
agreement between the expectations of sales staff
and purchasers regarding products.
• HACCP Plan and Principles: Food safety
is defined as the absence of risk factors above
a certain acceptable level. By employing the well
known HACCP principles, a decision is made as
to where there are critical control points (CCPs)
in the process, how these are to be monitored
and how they can be brought back under control.
The management system must be focused, which means
the number of CCPs should be kept to a minimum.
• Other Measures: Other
conditions that require control are described
as “other measures”. These should
be present, documented and working well to ensure
the efficiency of the system. The standard describes
how a controlling measure is categorized as regards
CCPs and other measures, but does not include
a decision tree.
• Communication: There are
also demands regarding accessible information
about products, storage conditions and the development
of new foodstuffs and food products, as well as
the education and training of staff whose work
has an impact on food safety.
Tailor-made Flexibility
ISO 22000 has been designed to have such flexibility
that it enables a tailor-made approach to food
safety depending on which segment of the food
chain a company is involved in. Bearing in mind
that the standards and procedures required for
high risk areas in one food sector may not be
appropriate in another, it does not take a one-size-fits-all
approach, nor does it take a checklist approach.
Central to its procedure is that all companies
will follow the local laws and those of the market
it is exporting to, as well as taking heed of
what client needs are.
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