NEWS December 2023

ISO/TC34/SC17 to Advance seven Parts of the ISO 22002 series of PRP standards to the Draft International Standard stage.

SC17’s WG11, which has been engaged in the revision of the ISO 22002 series of Prerequisite Programme (PRP) standards has completed the committee draft (CD) stage of seven out of the eight parts and recommended to the subcommittee that it launch the DIS (Draft International Standard (public hearing)) ballot early 2024. This work was completed in Singapore in mid-November over two very successful days of work. 

The PRP standards moving forward are:

ISO 22002-100, Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 100: PRP requirements common for food, feed, and packaging supply chain;

ISO 22002-1, Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 1: Food manufacturing;

ISO 2002-2, Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 2: Catering;

ISO 22002-4, Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 4: Food packaging manufacturing;

ISO 22002-5, Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 5: Transport and storage;

ISO 22002-6, Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 6: Feed and animal food production; and

ISO 22002-7, Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 7: Retail.

Parts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 were developed between 2009 and 2019. ISO 22002:100 has been developed to provide a consistent, core set of PRP requirements for the elements that are common to all segments of the supply chain. ISO 22002-7 – Retail has been added to further elaborate the PRP requirements for this additional category of the supply chain. Work is still on-going with respect to the revision of ISO 22002-3 – Farming, given the significant differences between this category and the other food chain categories.

Revision of ISO 22000:2018, Food safety management systems - Requirements for any organization in the food chain to be launched in 2024

ISO/TC34/SC17 at its 13th Plenary meeting in Singapore on 15 November 2023 agreed to launch a revision of the ISO 22000. A study group had reviewed the comments submitted by national standards bodies in mid-2023 and found sufficient rationale for considering changes to the standard, including:

Updating with ISO’s harmonized structure of management system standards (Annex SL of the ISO Directives Part 1);

Potential alignment with the recently revised Codex Alimentarius Commission’s General Principles for Food Hygiene (2022);

Editorial changes and possible new terms and definitions;

Changes resulting from the revision of the ISO 22002 series of PRP standards; and,

Additions to the requirements of ISO 22000 due to developments in the field of food safety management systems.

SC17 has agreed to reconstitute its WG8 to undertake this revision. National standards bodies will be invited to nominate new WG experts and the members of WG11, currently revising the ISO 22002 PRP standards will be invited to join to ensure continuity.

It is anticipated that the revision will take two (2) at most three (3) years to complete, so that the new version of ISO 22000 will be published by late 2026.

ISO/TC34/SC17 Launches 2024 – 2026 Strategic Business Plan

Every three years each ISO technical subcommittee revises its Strategic Business Plan and sets out its future work plan. In November 2023, ISO/TC34/SC17 published its updated plan for 2024-2026.

This plan aims to make the family of ISO 22000 standards even more relevant for the market influenced by the standards and certifications in the field of food safety management systems, covering the food supply chain from primary production to consumption, human and animal foodstuffs as well as animal and vegetable propagation materials.

It sets out six (6) objectives for the next three years:

Objective #1: Delivering international standards that respond dynamically to market and stakeholder food safety needs.

Objective #2: Improving adoption of ISO 22000 by small and medium-sized organizations (SMEs).

Objective #3: Simplifying the standards in the ISO 22000 family, including harmonizing the ISO 22002 series of PRP standards.

Objective #4 – Adapting to New Technology.

Objective #5 – Engaging with Stakeholders both within and outside the international standards system.

Objective #6 – Clarifying the role Food Safety Culture.

The full details of SC17’s 2024-2026 Strategic Business Plan can be found here