1              Overview

Food safety standards regulate the safety and suitability of food. “Safe” and “suitable” are the words used by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in its basic texts on food hygiene to describe food that is fit for human consumption.

The ISO 22000 is a new international standard that specifies the requirements for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety management in organisations involved in the production, processing, transport or distribution of food products.

2              In Simple Terms

Many food businesses are now required to document and implement a food safety program based on the HACCP principles.

Certification to ISO 22000 can provide increased confidence and international recognition that food safety is being maintained by food businesses on a continuing basis.

3              Specific Program Conditions

The Standard is based upon the principle that food safety is best ensured through the identification and control of hazards in the production, manufacturing and handling of food as described in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, adopted by the joint WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission.

The six core elements of a food safety program are:

·       Hazard identification: the systematic identification of hazards that may be reasonably expected to occur in the food handling operations of the business;

·       Hazard control: the identification of the control points and controls for each hazard;

·       Monitoring: the systematic monitoring of the controls;

·       Corrective action: the steps to be taken when a hazard is not under appropriate control;

·       Review: regular reviews of the program to ensure that it is still effective; and

·       Record keeping: the records made and kept by a food business to show the action taken to ensure that the business complies with the food safety program.

The Standard specifies the requirements for a food safety management system, to enable an organisation to:

·       develop, implement, execute, maintain and improve a food safety management system aimed at providing safe food products for the consumer;

·       show compliance with agreed customer requirements through communication

·       show compliance with regulatory requirements as regard to food safety;

·       assure itself of its conformance with its stated food safety policy;

·       demonstrate such conformance to other organizations;

·       make a self-declaration of conformance with this International Standard;

·       seek certification/registration of its food safety management system by an external organization.

4              What Documents/Records Are Needed To Understand This Program

In order to understand our Program, you should also access and be aware of the following documents:

·         G-00: Welcome Pack

·         MSP-00: Introduction to our Management Systems

·         MSP-01: Nomenclature and Definitions

·         MSP-24 Appeals