Revised ISO 22000 on food safety management set for 2017

The standard, first published in 2005, is being revised to reflect new food safety requirements, said the ISO working group (ISO/TC 34/SC 17/WG 8) which is in charge of the revision.

A consultation last year with users of the standard brought up gaps in the current version such as certain terms were found to be confusing: unnecessary repetition and some concepts needed clarifying.

It found that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were not sufficiently integrated and that understanding of risk evaluation still needed to be improved, according to ISO.

ISO working group members met in February in Dublin to discuss improvements to the standard and will meet again in Paris in October.

Critical control points​

The group is working to clarify key concepts, especially critical control points, operational programmes needed, approach to risks, product withdrawal and recall, and a combination of external control measures.

It will also update terms and definitions, make the standard simpler and more concise, avoid making the content too prescriptive and ensure a greater coverage of SMEs.

And the revised ISO 22000 will have the same format as other management systems standards, which will now follow an identical structure with common texts, terms and definitions.

This will make life easier for companies wanting to be certified to several management systems standards (MSSs), such as ISO 9001 and ISO 22000, according to the ISO group.

The coordinated format will ensure coherence between the standards, simplify their integrated use and facilitate their reading and understanding by users.

Food industry experts will be especially involved in this revision, but other users of the standard will be specifically targeted.

Regulatory requirements​

These include SMEs, feed producers, pet food industry players, regulators looking for a model by which to develop regulatory requirements with a food safety management approach, even manufacturers whose activities fall within the scope of the standard, for example water.

The revision working group will meet again in mid-October in Paris to deliver a second version. If all goes according to plan, the standard is expected to be published in 2017. 

The ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) is an independent, non-governmental membership organization which has 163 member countries.

ISO 22000 is an international standard that defines the requirements of a food safety management system covering all organizations in the food chain from “farm to fork”.