ISO 22000

Food Safety Management System

Consumers are repeatedly made to feel insecure because of headlines about quality problems in the food industry. Food safety is more important than ever and has absolute priority for all links in the food distribution chain. The aim is to ensure that consumers in globalized markets can be supplied with safe products over the entire food chain by means of standardisation.

ISO 22000: Hand in hand for optimum results

The ISO 22000 standard was developed by international food experts for companies of all sizes within the food industry. Following the philosophy of "from farm to plate", the scope of ISO 22000 not only covers all the links within the actual food chain, but also companies from upstream and downstream sectors. These include among others:

• Food manufacturers
• Animal feed manufacturers
• Primary production (animals and plants)
• Transportation and storage
• Wholesalers and retailers Packaging, cleaning agent and additive industry

ISO 22000: This standard benefits everyone

As all the stages of the food chain are covered, the ISO 22000 standard achieves harmonization, meeting interests of all stakeholders. For example, ISO 22000 covers a large number of the requirements from retailers. As this standard was developed on the international level, the corresponding certificates are recognized worldwide. This is an important aspect, especially for companies who concentrate heavily on exports. Other special benefits include the systematic integration of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) and continuous improvement of the food safety system. In contrast to the BRC and IFS standards, ISO 22000 does not contain any concrete requirements as regards “good practice“. Each company should lay down its own specific measures.

Requirements of ISO 22000

• Planning, introduction, maintenance and updating of a management system with the objective of increasing product safety and ensuring traceability
• Demonstrate fulfillment of applicable requirements regarding product safety
• Fulfill customer requirements and achieve customer satisfaction Facilitate effective communication with suppliers, customers and interested groups within the food chain
• Implement and comply with food safety policy which has been formulated
• Demonstrate duty-of-care in providing information on legal conformity to relevant organizations and authorities

If your company has already been certified in accordance with existing food industry standards, certification according to ISO 22000 will further facilitate and support this.

Our know-how for your success

TÜV NORD is an independent and internationally recognized certification company with many years of experience. Our auditors are competent specialists with specific complementary qualifications for the different areas within the food chain.