ISO 22000 Training for Organizations

Whatever their size, or product, all food producers have a responsibility to manage the safety of their products and the well-being of their consumers. That’s why ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System exists.

The consequences of unsafe food can be serious. ISO’s food safety management
standards help organizations identify and control food safety hazards, at the same time as working together with other ISO management standards, such as ISO 9001. Applicable to all types of producer, ISO 22000 provides a layer of reassurance within the global food supply chain, helping products cross borders and bringing people food that they can trust.

The purpose of a food safety management system is to ensure that food is safe to eat and will not lead to outbreaks of foodborne illness among consumers. This also includes managing kitchen safety. Food incidents or concerns about the safety of food and whoever is preparing it can harm the food business operator’s reputation in the industry. 
To maintain both valuable partnerships and consumer confidence, a food business operator must have documentation of a food safety management  system. Additional benefits of FSMS include:

• Less customer/consumer complaints
• Less food product recalls or returns
• Opportunity for ISO 22000 certification
• Standardized compliance with food laws

ISO 22000 sets out the requirements for a food safety management system and can be certified to it. It maps out what an organization needs to do to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe.

Each individual’s quality of life will benefit from the rules and regulations of ISO
22000 by the provisions of the following:

• Higher quality jobs in the food industry
• Improved utilization of resources worldwide
• Increased company profits
• Potential increased economic growth
• Insurance of safer food
• Reduction in rates of foodborne disease
• More efficient documentation of techniques, methods and procedures

In September 2022, the EU Commission published updated guidance to all food
business operators on how to implement the EU requirements on Good Hygiene
Practices (GHP) and procedures based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points principles (HACCP-based procedures) as parts of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS).  Available in 24 languages, this document can be found here.

ISO’s food standards benefit producers and manufacturers, regulators and retailers and, most important of all, you and me, the consumers.

• ISO 22000:2018-Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain
• ISO/TS 22002-1:2009 Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 1: Food manufacturing
• ISO/TS 22002-2:2013 Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 2: Catering
• ISO/TS 22002-3:2011 Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 3: Farming
• ISO/TS 22002-4:2013 Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 4: Food packaging manufacturing

Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization
in the food chain, YES. This standard was last reviewed and confirmed in 2023. Therefore, this version remains current.

The cost to achieve ISO 22000 certification depends upon following factors:

• Knowledge and awareness of ISO 22000:2018 Standard
• Extent of existing FS documents
• Knowledge and awareness of compliance obligations
• Organizational culture
• Knowledge and awareness of process approach and risk-based thinking concepts
• Organizational size and nature of products/services offered

ISO 22000 key food safety clauses include:

• HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
• Hazard Analysis
• PRPs (Prerequisite Programs)
• OPRPs (Operating Prerequisite Programs)

Whereas HACCP is focuses purely on food safety, ISO goes further. ISO also looks at business processes and structures. ISO certification is independent, which means that an organisation can decide for itself whether it wants to embrace it or not.

Jack Sekhon and Associates assists organizations in getting ISO 22000:2018
certification from concept through ISO 22000:2018 certificate in a practical,
sequential and easily understood language. This assistance could be face to face or virtual online. Here are some of the key steps required for ISO 22000:2018
certification:

• Gap analysis of existing quality practices vs ISO 45001:2018 Standard
  requirements.
• Understanding of process approach and risk-based thinking.
• Conduct Hazard Analysis
• Develop PRPs
• Conduct HACCP
• Identification of FS compliance obligations.
• Identification of documented information.
• Developing documented information -FSMS on paper.
• Implementing FSMS-Rolling it out.
• Performance evaluation of FSMS including compliance evaluation
• Stage 1 audit.
• Stage 2 audit.
• Continual improvement.

It is as easy as picking up the phone or send an email to open up the dialogue for
your ISO 22000 certification project with Jack Sekhon and Associates. Jack
Sekhon P.Eng will personally receive/return your call in a timely manner and lay
the framework for your ISO 22000:2018 certification project. Jack Sekhon and
Associates has 36 step implementation plan for your ISO 22000:2018  certification project. Here are highlights of that 36 point implementation plan for ISO 22000:2018 certification project:

• Sign an agreement/contract with JSA Inc including 36 step implementation plan with task, timelines, responsibility and deliverables.
• Secure senior management commitment and leadership for ISO 22000
  certification project
• Establish ISO 22000:2018 certification project scope i.e. complete certification, on-demand consulting/consultant role, on-demand audit management and fractional consulting on contract.
• Deliver ISO 22000 certification training
• Engage leadership and functional groups in process approach and risk based thinking concepts
• Lead senior management in establishing/acknowledging strategic direction
• Develop PRPs
• Identify FS hazards and conduct hazard analysis
• Develop HACCP plan
• Identify FS compliance obligations.
• Determine extent of documented information required by ISO 22000 Standard and aligned with strategic planning.
• Develop documented information, train employees on FSMS and roll it out.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of FSMS through internal audit, KPIs and management review including compliance evaluation.
• Registrar conducts Stage 1 Audit.
• Registrar conducts Stage 2 Audit.
• Identify gaps and develop/implement continual improvement plan.

The international accreditation forum (IAF) is the first place you should go to check if an ISO certificate is valid. If an organization’s certification body isn’t on the IAF list, then the certification isn’t valid.

• Next, you should check if the certification is from a national accreditation body. These bodies are responsible for accrediting organizations in their respective countries. If an organization is certified by one of these bodies, then you can be sure that the certification is valid.
• Third, you should check the expiration date on the certification. Most ISO certifications are valid for three years, after which they need to be renewed. If a certification doesn’t have an expiration date, or if the expiration date has passed, then it’s not a valid certification.
• Fourth, you should check to see if the organization has been recertified.
  Organizations need to go through the recertification process every three years to maintain their certification. If an organization hasn’t been recertified, its certification is no longer valid.
• Fifth, you should check to see if the organization has been suspended or revoked. If an organization’s certification has been suspended, it means that they are no longer in compliance with ISO standards. A revocation means that the organization is no longer certified at all. Either way, an organization with a suspended or revoked certification is not one you should do business with.
• Sixth, you should check to see if a third party has accredited the organization. Many organizations offer accreditation, but not all of them are equal. Make sure to check that a reputable third party accredits the organization you’re looking at before doing business with them.
• Finally, you should contact the certification body to verify the certification. This is actually the best way to check if an ISO certificate is valid. The certification body can tell you if the certification is still active and whether or not the organization is in good standing.

Three out of 17 UN SDGs align with the focus of ISO 22000. These are:

• 2-Zero hunger
• 3-Good health and well-being
• 12-Responsible consumption and production

• Lack of prerequisite programs is the #1 ranking identified barrier at 92.2%.
• Lack of knowledge about HACCP is the #2 ranking identified barrier at 83.5% [20].
• Prerequisite GHPs must be in place first, before an effective FSMs, hazard analysis and critical control point HACCP can be implemented [21].
• Nowadays, PRPs include environmental criteria and operational procedures. PRPs are encompassing the entire FSMS now, not only operational GHPs as in the past.
• PRPs are recognized to be an established foundation for the implementation of HACCP.
• Meanwhile, HACCP and PRPs have gone unacknowledged as interdependent.

Hazards are identified as part of the hazard analysis and then evaluated on their
likelihood to occur and the severity at which it could cause illness or injury. All hazards are assessed and categorized into three groups:

• Biological hazards include bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses.
• Chemical hazards are harmful substances such as pesticides or machine oils.
• Physical hazards are objects which contaminate your foods such as pieces of glass or metal, toothpicks, jewelry or hair.

• Campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter)
• Cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium)
• Cyclosporiasis (Cyclospora spp.)
• Escherichia coli O157:H7 Infection (E. …
• Giardiasis (Giardia)
• Listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes)
• Norovirus Infection (aka Norwalk virus, calicivirus, viral gastroenteritis)

Prerequisite programs in ISO 22002-1 (Previously the PAS 220) include requirements for:

• Construction and layout of building
• Layout of premises and workspace
• Utilities – air, water, energy
• Waste disposal
• Equipment suitability, cleaning, and maintenance
• Management of purchased material
• Measures for prevention of cross-contamination
• Cleaning and sanitizing
• Pest control
• Personnel hygiene and employee facilities
• Rework
• Product recall procedures
• Warehousing
• Product information
• Food defense, biovigilence and bioterrorism

The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) require that certain food businesses prepare, keep, maintain and implement a written preventive control plan (PCP) to demonstrate how hazards and risks to food are addressed.
A PCP is a written document that demonstrates how risks to food and food animals are identified and controlled. The controls are based on internationally recognized Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.

In a HACCP plan, the CCPs are always monitored. In an FSP, preventive controls are only monitored as appropriate to the nature of the preventive control and its role in the facility’s food safety system, and some preventive controls that are not applied at CCPs may not be monitored.