ISO 22000:2018 – What Are the Major Differences?

The new release of the ISO 22000:2018 version of the Food Safety Management System (FSMS) standard – Requirements for any organization in the food chain, the update in this new standard is that it follows the same high-level structure that is generally being used by all the updated food safety management system ISO standards. The foremost advantage of this new updated standard ISO 22000:2018 has become easier to integrate with other management system standards.

With ISO 22000 certification there allows a company to show their customers that they have a food safety management system in place. Also customer confidences in the product are provided by ISO 22000 certification. As customers demand healthy food and food processors need products from their suppliers to be safe, it will be more critical.

This recent update to the 2018 version in ISO 22000 is the second edition of the ISO 22000 standard; in 2005, the first edition of the standard was introduced, and the recent version is its second edition which is ISO 22000:2018.

Major Differences in ISO 22000:2018

While ISO 22000:2018 contains all of the same requirements for Quality Management Systems as the other revised standards, there are some specific technical requirements that make this ISO 22000 standard particular for organizations in the food industry. In ISO 22000 standard, Clause 8 specifies those ISO 22000:2018 standard requirements, which basically ensure the food safety on a technical level. And these requirements are:

• Operational planning & control – how the organization plans its processing and simultaneously controls for food safety.
• Prerequisites programs – These programs are identification of basic conditions and activities that are necessary to maintain a hygienic environment throughout the food chain.
• Traceability system – the system which is used to trace the unique food products.
• Emergency preparedness & control – identification of all the possible emergency situations and arrangements with how to deal with it.
• Hazard control – hazard control includes performance of hazard analysis, definition and validation of control measures, preparation of HACCP (hazard and critical control points) or (operational prerequisites programs) plans.
• Updating information – The information regarding prerequisites programs and to keep the hazard control plans updated.
• Control of monitoring and measuring – how the organization is controlling its monitoring and measuring systems
• Verification related to PRPs and hazard control plans – how the prerequisites programs and hazard control plans are verified and analysed.
• Control of nonconforming product and processes – This point considers how the organization controls its nonconforming products and processes, including the criteria for recall or withdrawal.

These ISO 22000: 2018 standard requirements are self-explanatory and give very comprehensive details regarding how you need to manage and ensure your food safety.

Purpose of the ISO 22000 Revision

With this ISO 22000 revision, the International Organization for Standardization aims to:

• Clarify key concepts that have caused confusion, such as Critical Control Points (CCPs), Operational Prerequisite Programmes (OPRPs) and Prerequisite Programmes (PRPs).
• Improves the readability and usability of the standard.
• To ensure that the ISO 22000 standard is relevant for actors in the food supply chain.
• To make sure that the standard adapted to the needs of SMEs.
• To increase the compatibility of ISO 22000 with other management system standards, by adopting a common structure and terminology.