Global Food Safety has been a major concern for several years, with manufacturers, retailers, food outlets and consumers. Codex Alimentarious have long been the front runners in developing food safety requirements and their HACCP codes of practice have been at the foundation for many independent and private schemes.

Moody International developed their own HACCP based standard and then had it accredited by RvA the Dutch national accreditation. It is therefore no surprise that we are again one of the few CB’s who have accreditation for ISO 22000 by UKAS the worlds leading and most respected accreditation organization.
However there has been an increasing requirement for standardization and acceptance within Global Food Safety and some way to establish common ground around the world….

When ISO issued their food safety standard in September 2005, it now provided for all organizations in the whole food chain to adopt a common approach that incorporates the HACCP principles, but also allows independent verification that your system meets internationally recognised requirements.

Some general ISO 22000 questions and answers...

1. What is ISO 22000:2005
This is the first general food safety standard to be issued that can be applied across the whole food chain. It uses the HACCP, (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point), principles that were developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
ISO 22000 has been developed to complement the existing ISO management system standards that require Quality System management, communication along the food chain, and certain basic conditions that should be in place, (pre-requisite programmes), depending upon what part of the food chain you are working in.

2. Who can apply for ISO 22000?
As this standard can be applied across the food chain, this can be for agriculture, feed producers, food processing, transportation and storage, cleaning services, restaurants and caterers, as well as associated service providers…..virtually the whole of the food chain.

3. Can this be combined with other ISO schemes?
Yes. 22000 has been written to allow integration with other ISO management system standards. It is expected that many food related companies with existing ISO certifications will readily accept 22000 as a more positive step for them and their customers.

4. I supply to the retail trade. Is ISO 22000 accepted by them?
While ISO 22000 provides for general accepted requirements across the food chain, some retailers require more specifics, especially concentrating on food processing. They would normally only accept their own specific standards of BRC or IFS.
However this approach is beginning to change and ISO 22000 is considered acceptable for most retailers.
In addition, ISO 22000 is currently under “Quality Management Systems” while retailer’s standards are under “Product Certification”

5. What are the Product / Service categories?
There are 10 main categories shown below. Flexibility and completeness of the approach from the standard can be seen as it is applicable to transport, services and equipment manufactures as well as from all aspects of the whole food chain

6. What is the audit duration?
For 22000, an initial 2-stage audit will be required. After this a normal surveillance / re-audit programme will be followed. Generally the duration will follow existing guide lines for current ISO systems. However a guidance & implementation standard, ISO 22003, is under development and a formal structure will be provided.

Moody International has followed the internationally accepted approach for food related activities with the first stage being a documentation & readiness assessment and the second stage the implementation assessment.

7. What are the Surveillance Frequencies?
Following success at the initial audit, surveillances are conducted as a minimum of 12 month intervals. Depending upon the results obtained at the previous audit and the risk level, this could be put to 6 months.

8. How long is the certificate valid?
Three years

For more details and further information, please contact our
Corporate Food Safety Manager, Brian Dixon on b.dixon@moodyint.com