ISO 22000 – Food Safety Management
(Coming Soon)
What is ISO 22000? The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed a Food Safety Management System following a similar format as the well known quality standard ISO 9001. The Food Safety Management System standard is ISO 22000.. The consequences of unsafe food can be serious and ISO’s food safety management standards help organizations identify and control food safety hazards. As many of today’s food products repeatedly cross national boundaries, International Standards are needed to ensure the safety of the global food supply chain. The ISO 20001 standard is applicable to any company in the food industry, from farmers, manufacturers and transporters to packagers and retailers. ISO 22000 registration is recognized worldwide, and is growing in popularity. ISO 22000, Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain is under revision, with the draft version available for purchase from mid 2016. The final updated version is expected early 2017. For more information contact iso.org.
FSSC 22000, ISO 22000 and the Global Food Safety Initiative, (GFSI)
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a division of the Consumer Goods Forum and a collaboration of retailers, manufacturers and food service companies that has been working on harmonization of food safety standards. One of the benchmarked standards is FSSC 22000 uses ISO 22000 for the management systems requirements. Many large retailers and manufacturers are requesting their suppliers to register to a GFSI recognized scheme.
FSSC 22000: Management System
(Coming Soon)
FSSC 22000 Basics: The FSSC System was designed to provide companies in the food industry with an ISO based FSMS certification that is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). Recognition by GFSI provides worldwide recognition and acceptance by food manufacturers and retailers. More information on GFSI can be found at the website: www.mygfsi.com
The FSSC 22000 system uses a management systems approach to food safety, using ISO 22000 for the management system requirements and ISO Technical Standards or Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) for prerequisite program requirements. The food safety management system integrates nicely with other management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
The certification audit and surveillance audits also take a management systems approach, with a process based audit instead of a checklist based audit. The audits determine if your FSMS meets the requirements of the standard, if it does your organization is recommended for certification. If it does not you will need to make improvements to the system before achieving certification. There is no score or grade from the audit. For more information visit Food Safety Training and Tools
Gluten Free Certification
Setting food safety standards for gluten-free food products
The market demand for gluten-free products is growing as more and more people are affected by gluten intolerance and sensitivities. The Gluten-Free Certification Program in an effort to provide consumers with greater availability and choice in gluten-free foods that comply with Food and Drug Regulations for these products.
Under these regulations, foods cannot be marketed as gluten-free, or in any way imply that they are gluten-free unless they comply with these requirements. Gluten free products are those that do not contain barley, oats, rye, triticale, wheat, or any other modified gluten protein derived from the grains of these cereals.
The purpose and benefits of a gluten-free food safety standard
While a clear intention of the gluten-free food safety standard is to provide consumers with confidence when purchasing gluten-free products, another goal is to encourage food producers, manufacturers, and distributors to increase gluten-free food options.
Participation in the standard certification is voluntary for producers and manufacturers, and participants are recognized and/or licensed to use a gluten-free certification logo on their products, providing an advantage with gluten-aware consumers.
Becoming accredited in the Gluten-Free Certification Program
This new food certification standard is not intended to replace or duplicate existing HACCP food safety standards, but to build on them to support the gluten-free market.
The certification program includes meeting the prerequisites, including meeting specified requirements for the production or manufacturing premises and the equipment used therein, the storage and transportation of products, the personnel involved in handling products, and process for handling recalls. Management systems must include procedures for monitoring these elements of the production process, as well as procedures for managing deviations, verifications, and record keeping.
Orion can assist your organization in achieving recognition under the Gluten-Free Certification Program through the required stages which include:
- Meeting with facility management to give an overview of the certification process
- Preparing and submitting the application package for the GFCP Review
- Conducting your on-site certification audit
- Performing the annual reviews required to maintain your certification
