To celebrate World Food Safety Day, the revised ISO 22003 on food safety management systems (part 1 and part 2) is now published, which will further benefit the global community.
These two standards are the result of a very succesful collaboration between the ISO subcommittee responsible for the ISO 22000 family of standards (ISO/TC 34/SC 17) and the ISO committee responsible for conformity assessment standards (ISO/CASCO). More than 100 experts with expertise in food safety, certification of food safety management systems and of product certification involving food safety, scheme ownership and accreditation from more than 30 countries participated in the Joint working group called JWG36.
From the late 1990s, ISO/IEC Guide 65, the former version of ISO/IEC 17065, was the primary standard used by food safety certification schemes based on product certification. However, given its broad scope for all types of product certification, ISO/IEC 17065 does not set any specific food safety related certification requirements. As a result, the requirements for the evaluation process, food chain categories, audit duration and the competence requirements for certification body personnel are set by each scheme owner. This resulted in challenges for customers, certification bodies and food safety auditors as FSS schemes differed.
In 2007, the publication of ISO/TS 22003 set clear requirements in these areas for bodies providing audit and certification to ISO 22000 and other FSMS certification schemes.
Now, the publication of the new ISO 22003 Part 1 and 2, creates a harmonized approach for FSMS and FSS certification using common terms and definitions, fully integrating the audit approach for FSS schemes, and establishing common, revised normative annexes for food chain categories (Annex A), minimum audit duration calculations (Annex B) and competence requirements (Annex C) for food safety auditors and other personnel involved in FSMS and FSS certifications.
Both Parts clearly recognize that the key normative elements (Annexes A, B and C) are minimum requirements that FSMS and FSS certification schemes may supplement or modify but not reduce.
“We now have two consistent documents which support industry to achieve food safety certification” said Kylie Sheehan, co-convener of JWG36 and General Manager Operations at the joint Australia-New Zealand accreditation body (JAS-ANZ). “They also provide regulators and consumers with the confidence that certification bodies undertaking food safety certification meet minimum benchmarked requirements that provide confidence in the food safety outcomes achieved.”
Discover the 2 new standards for food safety:
Note: ISO 22003-1 supplements ISO 17021-1:2015, the standard for the accreditation of bodies providing audit and certification of all types of management systems.
FSMS certification – a certification, based on ISO’s harmonized requirements for management systems, that incorporates food safety requirements based on the international accepted principles of food safety (i.e. prerequisite programmes and, as appropriate, control measures that result from either a site-specific or generic hazard analysis).
Note: ISO 22003-2 supplements ISO 17065:2012, the standard for the accreditation of bodies certifying all types of products, processes and services.
FSS certification – a product certification that incorporates requirements based on the internationally accepted principles of food safety (i.e. prerequisite programmes and, as appropriate, control measures that result from either a site-specific or generic hazard analysis) and management system components (e.g. management commitment, responsibility and review, documented information, internal audit) that support the production of safe food.