Why Do We Need ISO 22000?
In our last article, we briefly discussed the issue of food safety. The nature of food safety, just like the nature of the food chain, has changed over the years.
Generations ago, people were very close to the source of food (in the 1860’s, 90% of the U.S. population was agrarian). People once raised crops and cattle for personal consumption and, on occasion, sold their surplus directly to consumers at the farmers’ market in the nearest town.
The Food Supply Chain
As the population increased and became more urbanized, a food supply chain came into being. Between the farmer and the consumer came companies that shipped, stored, and milled grain; bagged, stored, and shipped flour; mixed flour with other ingredients to make dough; baked bread and packaged it; and stored and shipped the bread to market.
- James Beard (1903-1985)
Now, people bring their cuisines and their foods with them as they move across boundaries. Production around the world increases, so that many foods are no longer seasonal items. People are generally better informed about their choices and about food safety issues. With the increasing reach and complexity of the food supply chain, food safety becomes a more important issue than ever.
Safety Guidelines and Enforcement
Food safety rules and guidelines have existed for generations but have generally been developed and applied in a piecemeal manner. Most countries have their own food safety regulations; even within countries, there is little uniformity to food safety codes. For example, the United States has thousands of federal laws pertaining to food safety and at least two departments – Agriculture and Health And Human Services – to enforce the rules.
Individual companies and food industry groups have also developed their own standards. Depending on the size and scope of a given company’s business, it may be responsible for knowing and applying the rules and standards of multiple countries and industries. The plethora of food safety schemes worldwide has led to uneven application of food safety standards, confusion regarding safety requirements, and increasing complexity and costs to suppliers that are obliged to conform to multiple programs.
religion nor learning, but food.
- Lin Yutang, My Country and My People
Many governments felt that a uniform set of procedures was needed. HACCP was one of the first attempts at a uniform standard. As good as HACCP is, however, it isn’t uniformly applicable throughout the supply chain. This is how the ISO 22000 standard came into being.
The ISO 22000 Standard
ISO 22000:2005, ” Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the supply chain”, is designed to provide a framework of internationally harmonized requirements for the global food industry. It allows every type of organization in the supply chain – from primary producers to food processors, to storage and transportation companies, to retail and food service outlets, and even makers of equipment used in food processing – to implement a Food Safety Management System, or FSMS.
In addition, food safety management systems that conform to ISO 22000 can be certified, unlike with HACCP. ISO 22000 incorporates the principles of HACCP and addresses the requirements of many key standards (such as the BRC, IFS, and EU have developed) in a single source document.
A huge plus of ISO 22000 is that it parallels the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System standard, which is already widely implemented in all types of industries. What this means to food companies looking to certify to ISO 22000 is that since the new standard is compatible with ISO 9001, firms that are already ISO-9001-certified should find ISO 22000 certification relatively easy.
While food safety is not guaranteed simply by having the ISO 22000 standard, with implementation and compliance throughout the food supply chain, consumers can feel more confident that the food they buy – regardless of where it came from or how it got there – is safe to eat.
ISO 22000 Food Safety Auditor/Lead Auditor classes are available now. ISO 9000 Quality Auditor classes are forming now for Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor or call for your own private in-house classes today.
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