ISO 22000:2018, Food Safety Management Systems
Food is an essential need. We are, after all, what we eat. So much emphasis is placed on what goes into our bodies, key among which is food safety. We all know how uncomfortable and embarrassing stomach ailments can be. To this end, the International Organization for Standardization saw it fit to come up with the standard 22000 to save you from such hustles.
What is ISO 22000
ISO 22000 is designed to help organizations dealing with food to ensure that what they produce is fit for human consumption. Following a recent review of the standard in 2018, it holds the following four principles:
- System management
- Sound manufacturing principles including prerequisite programs
- Interactive communication
- Hazard analysis and critical control point principles
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Principles (HACCP?)
HACCP is a proven method to prevent possible risks to food caused by biological, physical, and chemical hazards.
It is based on the following key points:
- Do a hazard analysis: Here, a food-related organization is tasked with investigating its processes and figuring out where food safety hazards could originate from. Once done, it must evaluate them to see the risks.
- Find the critical control points: In your food production process, there are points that you can intervene to control the food safety hazards that you identified earlier. Identifying the risk isn’t enough; the organization must detail how to manage them
- Control the maximum and minimum limits for: Ph., salt level, temperature, chlorine level, time, and all processing characteristics. This means that if any of the food processes fall out of these controls, an organization must implement corrective action on all products affected.
- Determine limits for each critical control point: What do you do with a hazard at each critical control point?
- Determine monitoring procedures: Temperature, PH, salt level, and chlorine levels have to be monitored. An organization must establish the tools you’ll use to measure and at what intervals.
- Determine corrective actions: What will you do if you do not meet a critical limit?
- Create record-keeping procedures: Your records have to show what critical points are measured, time, and frequency. Doing this ultimately shows that the variable control measures you have chosen are indeed working.
- Establish procedures you can use to verify: When your food safety system is implemented, you have to verify its usefulness in controlling and preventing the identified hazards.
What benefits does your organization gain from conforming to ISO 22000?
The standard allows an organization dealing with food to benefit from providing safe, wholesome food by continuously improving its processes and delivering to the market a highly refined product, with customer satisfaction at the top of its objectives. Satisfied customers and a trusted brand all point to a successful business.
Food safety is also very heavily regulated, with fines imposed for not meeting thresholds; being ISO 22000 certified proves that your organization is willing to comply with food safety legal requirements and could save your organization a pretty penny.
How do I get certified?
Some companies specialize in ISO 22000 Certification. Contact an ISO accredited organization to help you.
