Good day ISO friends! We’re excited to bring you the latest updates, so grab a cup of coffee (or tea!) and dive into the highlights.
Read Out of Meetings
October 28- November 1, 2025 Peru: WG11, WG8, Plenary
A huge THANK YOU to INCAL, our incredible hosts in Peru, for their warm hospitality and all the hard work they put into organizing the SC 17 meetings and working group sessions. We also want to extend our gratitude to all delegates who took the time to join and contribute.
Plenary Updates:
- The SC17 Strategic Business Plan was reviewed and approved in 2023. The next review will be in 2026. You can check out the business plan anytime on the SC 17 website.
- ISO has launched a new platform for drafting standards, known as OSD (Online Standard Drafting). Starting January 2025, OSD will be the default platform for developing ISO deliverables. We’ll be moving away from the old Word-based templates, so be ready for this shift!
Convenors
- AG 1: Torben Lyster-Clausen (DK) –reappointment confirmed
- AG 2: Jenny Stephenson (US) accepted appointment
- AG 4: Colin Christmas - reappointment confirmed
Item for future work presented
- ISO 22005:2007 – Traceability in the feed and food chain: The plenary decided to hold off on revising this standard and will keep an eye on progress in CODEX. The Secretariat will bring this up in the November 2025 plenary.
WG8 Updates:
- We had a lively discussion about mandating ISO 22002 alongside ISO 22000—the conclusion: ISO 22002 will remain optional for now.
- Exciting work ahead: The group is collaborating with the audit team to create an annex on continuous improvement and also agreed to support the inclusion of Food Safety Culture in ISO 22000.
- We are exploring the potential for moving Food Fraud and Food Defense definitions and requirements from ISO 22002 into ISO 22000.
- Breastmilk production and the application of ISO 22000 were hot topics! Consensus: Yes, breastmilk that is expressed, donated or sold is a food and should be treated as such under the standard
WG11 Updates
Peru 2024
A lot of action here! We made great progress resolving comments for the ISO 22002 family. Big win: ISO 22002-7 will now be called "Retail and Wholesale" (goodbye, confusion!)
25 February 2025 Virtual
- Finalized comments
- Status of portfolio
- Get ready for FDIS (Final Draft International Standard)
Looking Forward to Upcoming Meetings
WG 8
6 May 2025 virtual
- Discussing action items 11-16.
November 17-21, (Paris, France, 2025 in person)
- Our in-person meeting in Paris is coming soon! ✈️
Details on the specific schedule will follow, but we will have WG8 alongside the SC 17 plenary for a jam-packed week. Paris is always a good idea.