A Complete ISO 22000 Requirement Checklist to See Before the Audit!

Summary

The article offers a complete checklist of the ISO 22000 requirements. It intends to help organizations assess their FSMS before the final ISO 22000 audit.

Like all the other management standards published by ISO, ISO 22000 has a lengthy list of requirements companies must fulfil to obtain the ISO 22000 certification.

Satisfying these regulations or requirements will help you pass the final ISO 22000 audit seamlessly. Also, aligning your food safety management system with these requirements will assist you with becoming compliant with global FSMS standards, reducing the chances of food contamination, and executing safer and more hygienic food processing practices.

So, if you have an existing FSMS and are planning to undergo the ISM 22000 certification audit, look at the below section for a complete checklist of ISO 22000 requirements to ensure your management system covers all the clauses.

A Complete ISO 22000 Requirement Checklist to See Before the Audit!

The requirements of ISO 22000 for a successful FSMS are highlighted through clauses 4 to 10.

Here’s an overview of the ISO 22000 requirements:

Clause 4:

The ISO 22000 requirements start with defining the context of an organization. It requires companies to identify the internal and external issues that can affect their processes and management system. It advises to:

• Understand the organization and its context
• Understand what interested parties require and expect from you
• Determine the scope of the food and safety management system
• Establish and maintain your food safety management system performance of laboratory activities

Clause 5:

Clause 5 of the ISO 22000 audit checklist focuses on leadership. It asks organizations to focus on:

• Leadership and commitment of top management
• Establish a food safety policy
• Communicate the food safety policy
• Allocate organizational responsibilities, roles, and authorities,
• Determine the responsibilities of your food safety team leader.

Clause 6:

Planning is the sixth clause of the ISO 22000:2018 FSMS audit checklist. It requires companies to:

• Plan their actions to mitigate risks and identify opportunities
• Set objectives for the food safety management system and plan how to achieve them
• Implement change management for potential gaps in the FSMS

Clause 7:

This ISO 22000 requirement focuses on support. It recommends that organizations determine the resources they will need to establish, maintain, update, and continually improve the food safety management system. This section of the standard mainly focuses on:

• Support and resources
• Human resources and interested parties
• Infrastructure
• Work environment
• External developed elements of the FSMS
• Setting controls for externally provided products, services, and processes,
• Competent, informed communication
• Documenting information,
• Control of documentation

Clause 8:

Emergency preparedness and response is the eighth clause of ISO 22000. It provides guidance to companies to plan and prepare for preventing unfortunate circumstances that can affect the quality of their FSMS. Its requirements include creating policies for:

• Handling emergencies and incidents
• Controlling hazards
• Conducting hazard analysis
• Analyzing the characteristics of the raw materials and ingredients
• Evaluating the characteristics of the end product and its intended use
• Using flow diagrams and descriptions of processes
• Establishing hazard control plans
• Controlling, monitoring, and measuring hazards
• Analyzing results and controlling process nonconformities
• Corrective action plans and handling of hazardous products

Clause 9:

According to this clause, you will routinely conduct a performance evaluation of your food safety management system. It requires companies to:

• Monitor, measure, analyze, and evaluate the system
• Conduct internal audit
• Perform management review

Clause 10:

The last clause of ISO 22000 focuses on documentation and continuous improvement of the food safety management system. It requires companies to:

• Consider the results of the previous analysis to update their food safety management system
• Stimulate continuous improvement of the system with the support of top management.

Bottom Line

So, does your food safety management system cover all these clauses? If yes, then you are ready for the ISO 22000 audit. However, if your response is negative, you may want to conduct an internal audit to find the gaps in your system before going for the certification audit.