ISO 22000 – around the world

The global food safety standard ISO 22000 was launched in September 2005. Since then the standard has been extended to more than 50 countries around the world, and in this way it is the first global standard of food safety. This article outlines some industry experiences from the first year of the standard.

Food safety hazards may be introduced at any stage of the food chain. ISO 22000 covers it all to encourage harmonisation throughout the chain – on a global level – that minimises the risks.

ISO 22000 is a global standard for the complete food chain. This is illustrated by the companies that have implemented the standard. These are, among others1, wine producers in Argentina and Australia; a food laboratory in Belgium; a catering company in Finland; a chicken producer in Sweden; A producer of vegetable oil in Estonia; a supplier of drinking water in France; a beef producer in Palestine; fish companies in Spain; a chocolate and sweet manufacturer in Switzerland; retailers in Belgium; a feed producer in Denmark and a global ingredient producer. These operations are in addition to large international producers such as Wrigley’s, Arla Foods and DANONE – to mention just a few.

In this way the first step has been taken in the efforts of creating a global standard across the whole food chain, thus enabling one common and effective system, regardless of whether the company is acting as a customer or a supplier, for the benefit of producers, retailers and consumers.

Effectiveness through communication

Creating one system across branches and borders provides the possibility of strengthening food safety through harmonising the working procedures.

This is one of the fundamental ideas behind the ISO 22000 standard. When everybody uses the same methods and language, the possibilities of having an effective system are increased. This, in effect, produces a system that maximises food safety, limits the use of resources and reduces the risk of critical errors and misunderstandings.

This was one of the reasons that Panther Plast – as the first packing company in the world – obtained an accredited ISO 22000 Certificate in January 2006.

“To have a common global standard and a shared point of reference is an advantage for both customers and suppliers alike. At the same time we found the content of ISO 22000 more balanced than any of the existing private retail standards, so it was better fitted for our company. Finally it was fairly easy to incorporate this rather comprehensive standard into our existing ISO 9001 system – that is why we chose ISO 22000,” says Environment and Quality manager Lasse Ahm from Panther Plast.

The possibility to link ISO 22000 to other standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 was also an incentive for Production Director, Alan Richards, from The Wrigley Company in the UK1.

“After extensively reviewing existing standards and the new ISO 22000, we were convinced that this new standard would help us ‘raise the bar’ to an even higher level. The benefit of ISO 22000 is that it audits and verifies our food safety management system according to HACCP principles and that it integrates food safety management with our ISO 9001:2000 quality management system. We have combined ISO 22000 with our own internal standards and this has not only provided a robust guideline for our food safety management system, but it has also allowed us to promote a culture of continual improvement in our manufacturing practices.”

This is another cornerstone in ISO 22000. It is a tool for improvement and is not meant to be hidden away in a lab after implementation. It has a strong focus on communication and is meant to be used as documentation for a well-established food safety system – towards clients, authorities and suppliers. It is not a sin to capitalise on a strong food safety system!

Food safety throughout an organisation

Arla Foods, the biggest dairy company in Northern Europe, has also decided to implement ISO 22000 at each of their production sites. The first was Rødkærsbro in Denmark. They have had strong focus on getting the food safety message through to everybody in the organisation. With a fully comprehensive explanation the major food safety challenges are understood where it is most important: on the production floor. Communication is also enhanced by ISO 22000 – both internally and externally – resulting in significant risk reduction. A global standard gives everybody in the food chain the same vocabulary and avoids costly and risky misunderstandings. Even though the food safety level was remarkably high before the implementation of ISO 22000, Arla Foods has developed even further.

“With ISO 22000 we are at the forefront of development within the food safety area. With this certification we can ensure that the standard is well implemented and we keep improving ourselves,” says Quality Manager Niels Juul Mortensen, Central Quality Department, Arla Foods amba.

A year with good promises for the future

The first year with ISO 22000 has not resulted in all other food standards being cancelled. After all, not many would have expected that. Producers in the food chain are still required to be able to handle demands from retailers as well as from large food producers. But the first year has shown that ISO 22000 is surely becoming a global standard to be reckoned with. For instance, general manager corporate quality Yves Rey, Danone2 explains: “A HACCP plan, dynamically combined with ISO 22000, allows us to continuously improve risk management, reduce food safety hazards and develop recognition of the quality of our products, and to strengthen confidence among public authorities and our customers.”

In summary, the results over the first year of the standard have been comprehensive. Food producers in all stages of the food chain and in all parts of the world have accepted and implemented ISO 22000 as a new global food safety standard. Still many medium and small sized companies are waiting for the position of the tree main market drivers: the major multinational food companies, the authorities and the retailers. Some of the major multinational food companies in Europe have been very positive about implementing the standard for themselves and their suppliers. Authorities in some countries have plans to enable certified companies to benefit through less frequent controls and, perhaps, outsource public control. Retailers in Belgium are ISO 22000-certified but in general the benefits for the retailers have not been communicated strongly enough.

Challenges to come

The first experiences of ISO 22000 have been very positive, but there are still challenges to come. To create a common understanding of the benefits of the standard among producing companies and retailers is an important issue. It is being addressed by the ISO organisation and branch organisations for retailers, food producing companies and international certification bodies where a bridging process has been started. The driving forces for future development of the standard are, to a large extent, the retailers, large food producers and national authorities, and future dialogue between each of them is needed. Another challenge will be to manoeuvre between authorities, clients and company demands. The authorities must define what are acceptable levels for different pathogens such as Salmonella, coli bacteria, Campylobacter etc. and the companies must incorporate control measures to ensure acceptable levels of hazards are met. A food safety management system is described by the triangle clients, authorities and internal demands. A third challenge is to develop guidelines for the accreditation bodies (ISO 22003) and this is already planned for March 2007. Let us hope that the other challenges can be addressed just as quickly.

Sources

1. ISO Management System – March-April 2006 – p. 21-25
2. Food Engineering & Ingredients, volume 31 – NO. 2, May 2006