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Does your company supply products or services within the area of the foodstuffs chain? Are you a transporter, a manufacturer of appliances/packing or a service provider for the foodstuffs industry? Then you are the target group of the new ISO 22000:2005, the first management system for food safety which is valid internationally. The public is becoming more and more conscious of food safety. No silly season without a beef, pork or game scandal. Companies represented in the food area with their products or services are increasingly being held responsible. Legal foundations The legal foundations for the production of safe food in Austria have substantially changed for businessmen during the last 10 years. The new EU Hygiene Regulations (Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002, 852/2004, 853/2004, 854/2004 and 882/2004) place food law on a new basis. The implementation of these regulations is being regulated in the new Austrian Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act (LMSVG, BGBl. I No. 13/2006) of 20.01.2006. In this context the main responsibility for the safety of the foodstuffs always lies with the businessman! The central element for guaranteeing food safety by the businessman is the implementation of a hazard analysis and the monitoring of critical control points (HACCP). The HACCP principles are also a major component of most trade standards which were developed in parallel to the legal requirements. In this context one should mention above all IFS, BRC, HACCP, GMP and EUREPGAP. These standards always cover only sub areas of the food chain or are introduced and audited product-related. The regulations in the primary production, the processing or in transport are often not compatible. Double certifications cause costs The fact that European trade chains accept only certain standards makes things even more difficult. If goods are supplied to a British trade chain, the introduction of the BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standard may be obligatory, but numerous other European retail chains demand the International Food Standard (IFS). None of these standards is valid outside Europe. The missing harmonization of these standards unavoidably leads to double certifications and often higher costs and increased expenditure of time for the companies. With the development of ISO 22000:2005 "Management Systems for Food Safety - Demands on Organisations in the Food Chain" of 1st September 2005 we have for the first time a management standard for guaranteeing food safety which is valid world-wide. The standard was developed by the technical committee ISO/TC 34 "Foodstuffs“ in cooperation with the technical committee CEN/TC CEN/SS C01 "Foodstuffs“ and is addressed to organizations along the foodstuffs chain. Listed in the standard are animal feed producers, primary producers, foodstuffs producers, transporters, stockists, sub-contractors, retailers, inns, canteens and suppliers of the groups mentioned (manufacturers and of appliances, packing material, cleaning stuff, additives and ingredients). The main aim of ISO 22000 is food safety. To achieve this objective four generally recognized main elements are being combined:
Although the main elements described are to be considered as very specific for ISO 22000:2005, the basic structure of the standard is comparable to ISO 9001:2000. An enterprise with a QM certificate therefore has very good conditions for introducing the new standard. Old standards will continue The performance of an audit is different from that according to ISO 9001:2000. In Phase 1 the framework conditions, the documentation and the standard of knowledge are inspected on-site. Phase 1 of the audit can be done immediately before Phase 2. Phase 2: This is a check that the deviations of Phase 1 have been dealt with. What follows is identical with an audit according to ISO 9001:2000. The verification of the deviations from the audit can be done through an after-audit or through documents supplied. The certificate is valid for three years. It is not to be expected that ISO 22000:2005 will replace the national standards such as IFS or BRC within the foreseeable future since the retailers will hold on to the regulations developed by themselves. ISO 22000 will become important mainly in those lines of business where the national standards are not required. These are mainly suppliers and partners of the foodstuffs industry and service providers (communal feeding, system gastronomy, catering etc.). The standard will also be important in the international goods traffic since the national standards are not known outside the borders of the EU. The standard offers an interesting option for all businesses along the foodstuffs chain which are exporting now already to the USA, Japan or Australia TÜV Austria in partnership with TÜV Nord can offer certifications according to ISO 22000:2005 as one of the first Austrian certification bodies. If required the audit can also be conducted combined or scheduled in time with other standards. Author: Mag. Dr. Stefan Hackel
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