ISO 22000 Implementation Guide: How to Get Food Safety Certification Step-by-Step

Thinking about getting ISO 22000 certified? Smart move. ISO 22000:2018 is the international standard for Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), helping businesses ensure product safety, meet regulatory requirements, and access larger (and more lucrative!) contracts.

If you're wondering where to start, this beginner-friendly guide gives you a simple step-by-step overview of the 10 things syou need to do to have a great food safety management system. Future posts will dive deeper into the individual clauses, but for now, here's what the overall implementation process looks like.

1. Understand ISO 22000 Requirements

Before you begin building your system, it's crucial to understand what ISO 22000 actually asks of you. This sets the foundation for everything else. There are two things you need to do before you go too far into the whoel ISO22000 process:

• Grab a copy of the ISO 22000:2018 standard and this handy implementation guide.
• Study its requirements and familiarise yourself with them including Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles, if you haven't already got these in place.

2. Get Management Commitment

• Educate top management on the benefits of ISO 22000.
• Secure their support for allocating resources (time, personnel, budget), it's a requirement of the standard for everything to be driven from top management down.
• Define a Food Safety Policy aligned with ISO 22000 requirements – note this does not have to be war and peace, it should be short and sweet, 2-3 paragraphs that outline your companies view on Food Safety that covers the mandatory requirements in Clause 5.2. 

3. Conduct a Gap Analysis

• Assess your current food safety practices against ISO 22000. There are some templates out there, but most are not free, or have a signup requirement of course 😉 You do also have the option at this point to engage a consultant.There are many consultancies out there that can help guide you through the process, and they will generally do a full gap analysis as the first step of engagement. (Do your homework, get references/testimonials and have a good talk with them to see if they fit your communication style and aims).
• Identify gaps and areas for improvement – this will create a full action list of work required to get you compliant, and this will drive a realistic time frame and plan for accreditation.

4. Establish a Food Safety Team

• Form a team with representatives from different departments. Every area of the business from Sales to Despatch will have input to, or be affected by, your Food Safety management system. This same team will come in to play when you are doing any changes to the business.
• Assign a Food Safety Team Leader to oversee implementation, someone needs to champion the cause and keep everyone moving together!

5. Develop the Food Safety Management System (FSMS) Documentation

• Food Safety Policy & Objectives
• Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• Prerequisite Programs (PRPs) and Operational PRPs
• Traceability and Recall Procedures

6. Implement the Food Safety Management System (FSMS)

• Train employees on food safety requirements, there will be an expectation from the standard that competency is proven for critical training – either questionnaires or assessment on the job by a competent person.
• Maintain records to ensure traceability. This means clear batch records, expiry / best before dates, and all checks and information relevant to those be easily accessible.

7. Conduct Internal Audits

• Perform regular internal audits to check compliance. Generally, most business break up the FSMS / ISO standard into manageable chunks and schedule audits at regular intervals to review each area and ensure
• Identify non-conformities and take corrective actions

8. Perform Management Review

• Top management should review system performance.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

9. Prepare for Certification Audit

• Choose an accredited certification body. Don't forget you get to choose them, so when lookign for who to use, ask them questions, get an idea of the style you shoudl expect from them and decide if it will fit your organisation.
• Conduct a pre-assessment audit to fix any issues.
• Undergo the certification audit by the external body. First a first time out there will be a Stage 1 audit – this is a desktop audit to ensure you have all the fundamentals in place for the system. Then, (typically 4-6 weeks later) you will have the Stage 2 audit. This will be full immersion out in production, looking to see evidence of your team adhering to the system.

10. Maintain and Improve your Food Safety Management System (FSMS)

• Stay updated on regulatory changes.
• Promote a culture of food safety in your organisation.

So, if you want to drive improvement in your organisation and open doors to larger (and more lucrative!) contracts, start the journey to ISO 22000 today!