ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management Systems

ISO 22000:2005 specifies requirements for a food safety management system where an organization in the food chain needs to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe at the time of human consumption.

It is applicable to all organizations, regardless of size, which are involved in any aspect of the food chain and want to implement systems that consistently provide safe products. The means of meeting any requirements of ISO 22000:2005 can be accomplished through the use of internal and/or external resources.

 ISO 22000:2005 Specifies Requirements To Enable An Organization

• To plan, implement, operate, maintain and update a food safety management system aimed at providing products that, according to their intended use, are safe for the consumer,
• To demonstrate compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory food safety requirements,
• To evaluate and assess customer requirements and demonstrate conformity with those mutually agreed customer requirements that relate to food safety, in order to enhance customer satisfaction,
• To effectively communicate food safety issues to their suppliers, customers and relevant interested parties in the food chain,
• To ensure that the organization conforms to its stated food safety policy,
• To demonstrate such conformity to relevant interested parties, and
• To seek certification or registration of its food safety management system by an external organization, or make a self-assessment or self-declaration of conformity to ISO 22000:2005.

ISO 22000:2005 was published by ISO (The International Organization for Standardization) on the 1st of September 2005. The standard was published in response to 15 countries, among them Denmark, US & UK, interested in the creation and realization of a standard to ensure safe food supply chains worldwide.

ISO 22000 will exert influence in both directions of the food chain as we know it, but there will also be focus on other interested parties, including public authorities and both customers and suppliers of the food industry.