What is FSSC 22000?

Food Safety System Certification 22000 is a required for Food Safety Certification.

It is ISO-based, internationally accepted certification scheme for auditing and certification of food safety within the food and beverage manufacturing sector.

FSSC 22000 is based on the existing standards ISO 22000, ISO 22003 and technical specifications for sector prerequisite programs (PRPs), which were developed through consultation with a number of related organizations.

Manufacturers who are ISO 22000 certified can obtain full Global Food Safety Initiatives (GFSI) recognition through FSSC 22000 certification by meeting the requirements of technical specifications for sector PRPs and the additional scheme requirements.

The requirements of the standards vary a bit from program to program, but they all follow GFSI guidelines. This means that in order to achieve certification, an organization must have documentation and/or processes in place for the following:

1. Food Safety ManagementFood Safety Policy
2. Food Safety Manual
3. Management Responsibility
4. Management Commitment
5. Management Review
6. Resource Management
7. Documentation
8. Specifications
9. Procedures
10. Internal Audits
11. Corrective Action
12. Control of Non-conformity
13. Product Release
14. Purchasing
15. Supplier Performance Monitoring
16. Traceability
17. Complaint Handling
18. Serious Incident Management
19. Control of Measuring and Monitoring\
20. Product Analysis
21. Prerequisite Programs (PRPs), and
22. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)

What is FSSC 22000 used for?

FSSC 22000 is suitable for auditing and certification of food safety systems for companies in food processing, eg. fish processing plants or perishable animal products (dairy, meat, poultry and eggs).

Others includes perishable vegetable products including fresh fruits, juices vegetables and preserved fruits and preserved vegetables.

FSSC 22000 also governs products with shelf life, biochemicals (eg. vitamins, additives and biocultures)

Benefits of FSSC 22000 certification

• FSSC 22000 is based on ISO 22000 ensuring compatibility and consistency
• It is GFSI recognized
• Use of existing, independent, international standards
• ISO 22000, ISO 22003 and technical specifications for sector pre-requisite programs
• ISO/IEC 17021 accreditation (system and process approach)
• Fills the gap across different sector within the Food Safety industry (eg. Food and Beverages, Slaughtering, Pet food)
• Commitment from various stakeholders including industry participants, retailers and NGOs
• Transparency

The 3 most-used food safety systems are:

1. BRC Global Standard for Food Safety
2. SQF Code
3. IFS Food Standard

Together with FSSC 22000, they formed the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).