ISO 22000 Food Safety Requirements

To ensure the safe consumption of food, ISO (International Organization for Standardization) has set an international standard that is applicable to all organizations that deals in the production and preparation of food products. The standard aims at the establishment of a quality management system that regulates the working of the food supply chain to ensure the safety of the food for human consumption. As per the international standard set for the ISO 22000 accreditation an organization need to incorporate the following features/elements in the food supply chain.

• Interactive communication
• System management
• Prerequisite programs
• HACCP principles

An interaction throughout the food supply chain is essential to ensure the relevant food hazard has been identified and adequately controlled at the respective stage of identification. This implies the significance of the communication in an organization both upstream and downstream, to maintain a supply of safe food products.

Recognition of the organization’s responsibility and role in the food supply chain is essential to establish communication within the food supply chain in order to provide safe food products to the customers. ISO 22000 should be managed independently of the other management systems prevailingin the organization. The food safety management system established within the organization should be updated, operated within a framework of the structured management system within the organization. ISO 22000 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi works parallels with the ISO 9001 in order to enhance the compatibility of the two standards.

ISO 22000 food safety Requirements include the HACCP policies as formulated by the international regulatory body. Hazard analysis is a key to an effective safety management system in the food supply chain. The system involved in the hazard analysis should have knowledge of the effective measure for the control of the hazard factors.

ISO is also developing a family of food safety system certification which includes various other aspects related to the safety of the finished products produced by an organization to the delivery of the products at the consumer ends.

ISO 22000 is also applicable in the certification of another standard that is referred as Food Safety Systems Certification (FSSC) Scheme FS22000. It is a globally accepted standard that works for according to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) approved scheme.