ISO 22000 – Food Safety Management Systems
FSSC 22000:2010 is an international standard developed for the certification of Food Safety Management Systems for food manufacturers.
It combines the requirements of ISO 22000:2005 (Food Safety Management Systems requirements) and PASS220:2008 (prerequisite programmes on food safety for food manufacturing).
The FSSC 22000:2010 scheme is fully recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GSFI), the benchmarking body for the harmonization of international food safety standards, along with other food safety management schemes like the BRC, IFS and SQF schemes. The strong element of ISO 22000:2005 in the standard makes it align with other generic management systems such as the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 to enable effective system integration.
Brief Background to FSSC 22000:2010
ISO 22000:2010 was not approved through the GSFI benchmarking process primarily because the requirement for prerequisite programmes for food manufacturing was not detailed in the standards, due largely to its ‘entire food chain’ coverage. This led to further work championed by the large food manufacturers including Kraft, Nestle, DANONE and Unilever under the aegis of the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA); that led to the introduction in 2008 of the PAS220:2008 (prerequisite programmes on food safety for food manufacturing).
The Foundation for Food safety developed and has ownership of the FSSC 22000:2010 standard based primarily on the combination of the requirements of ISO 22000:2005 and PAS220:2008. FSSC 22000:2010 has received full recognition by the GSFI having successfully passed through the benchmarking process. Licensed certification bodies like NQA can audit against the requirements and issue certificates for FSSC 22000:2010.
Who Should Use FSSC 22000:2010?
Unlike ISO 22000:2010, which is applicable to all organizations along the food chain; FSSC 22000:2010 is specifically designed for food manufacturers. The scheme is intended for the audit and certification of the food safety management system of food manufacturers that process or manufacture:
- perishable animal products, excluding slaughtering and pre-slaughtering (i.e. meat, poultry, eggs, dairy and fish products).
- perishable vegetal products (i.e. fresh fruits and fresh juices, preserved fruits, fresh vegetables, preserved vegetables).
- products with long shelf life at ambient temperature (i.e. canned products, biscuits, snacks, oil, drinking water, beverages, pasta, flour, sugar, salt).
- (bio)chemical products for food manufacturing (i.e. vitamins additives and bio-cultures) but excluding technical and technological aids.
Note: transport and storage on site and as part of the operation are included (e.g. cheese ripening). It is applicable to all food manufacturing organizations in these categories, regardless of size and complexity, whether profit-making or not and whether public or private
Benefits of Achieving Certification to FSSC 22000:2010
- Customer satisfaction - through delivery of products that consistently meet customer requirements including quality, safety and legality
- Reduced operating costs - through continual improvement of processes and resulting operational efficiencies
- Operational efficiencies - by integrating pre-requisite programs (PRP’s & OPRP’s), HACCP with the Plan-Do-Check-Act philosophies of ISO 9001 to increase the effectiveness of the Food Safety Management System
- Improved stakeholder relationships - including staff, customers and suppliers
- Legal compliance - by understanding how statutory and regulatory requirements impact the organization and its customers and testing compliance through internal audits and management reviews
- Improved risk management - through greater consistency and traceability of product
- Proven business credentials - through independent verification against recognized standards
- Ability to win more business - particularly where procurement specifications require certification as a condition to supply.
ISOCert Certification Process
ISOCert has a unique approach of certification which complies with the requirement for bodies providing audit and certification of management system.
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