Food safety
ISO 22000:2018
Food safety management systems
ISO 22000 sets out requirements for a food safety management system for any organisation in the food chain.
It combines the principles of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) with prerequisite programmes for hygiene and a management system that plans, checks and improves the whole approach. A certified organisation can show that it identifies and controls the food safety hazards relevant to its part of the chain.
Who it suits
Farms and other primary producers, food and drink manufacturers and processors, caterers and food service, retailers, storage and distribution businesses, and makers of ingredients, animal feed and food-contact packaging: any organisation in the food chain, whatever its size. FSSC 22000, which some buyers ask for, is a separate certification scheme with its own owner and rules; it builds on ISO 22000 but is not the same certification.
What certification involves
ISAO, or a certification body accredited for ISO 22000, audits the system in two stages: first the scope, the hazard analysis, the prerequisite programmes and readiness; then, on site, whether hygiene conditions, control measures, monitoring and records work in practice. The certificate names the products, processes and sites covered. Certification does not replace inspection by food authorities or the legal duties of food businesses. Certificates are normally valid for three years, with surveillance audits at least once a year and a recertification audit before expiry. ISAO carries out this certification itself, and also accredits certification bodies to do it. Every certificate ISAO issues, and every certificate issued under ISAO accreditation, is recorded on the public register.
Key themes
- Prerequisite programmes: hygiene, cleaning, pest control, maintenance and control of suppliers
- Hazard analysis of biological, chemical and physical hazards, including allergens where relevant
- Control measures managed as critical control points or operational prerequisite programmes
- Validating control measures and verifying that the system works
- Traceability, handling of potentially unsafe products, and withdrawal and recall
- Communication along the food chain and with authorities
- Emergency preparedness, internal audit, management review and improvement
Edition
- Current edition
- ISO 22000:2018
ISO 22000:2018, the second edition, was published in June 2018 and replaced ISO 22000:2005. An amendment published in February 2024 asks the organisation to consider whether climate change matters to it when it reviews its context, and adds a note that interested parties may have expectations about climate change. ISO has a revision of the standard in progress. Until a new edition is published, ISO 22000:2018 remains the edition that certificates refer to.
Check a certificate for ISO 22000:2018
- Enter the certificate number or verification code at Verify a certificate, or scan the QR code on the certificate. The record shows the certificate's status today, for example valid, suspended, withdrawn or expired.
- Compare the organisation name, scope and sites on the record with the copy you were given. Check that the products, processes and sites you buy from are named in the scope.
- Check who issued the certificate, as named on the record. Where a certification body accredited by ISAO issued it, the record shows the status of that accreditation and its accreditation number, and says so if the accreditation did not cover ISO 22000:2018 when the certificate was issued.
- If the certificate is not on the register, ISAO cannot confirm it: it may have been issued under another accreditation, or a detail may be wrong. Ask the issuing body, and report a concern if something does not look right.
Related standards
This is ISAO’s own summary, not the text of the standard. Copies of ISO 22000:2018 can be bought from ISO or from national standards bodies.