In recent years there have been a few food scandals which have made modern societies question how safe our food is on its journey from farm to fork. Additionally, there have been new food safety requirements that have pushed the need for a revision of ISO 22000. On the 23rd – 25th February 2015 there was a meeting of the ISO working group hosted by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to discuss the necessary improvements to the standard.
A consultation regarding the standard last year highlighted gaps in the current version. It was found that:
- Certain terms were potentially confusing
- There was unnecessary repetition
- Some concepts needed clarifying
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were not sufficiently integrated
- Understanding of risk evaluation still needs improvement
All of these gaps have contributed to the need for revision.
The revision group will tackle the following issues:
- Clarifying certain key concepts especially critical control points required to be managed, operational programmes needed, approach to risks, product withdrawal and recall, a combination of external control measures
- Update of terms and definitions
- Make the standard simpler and more concise
- Avoid making the content too prescriptive
- Ensure a greater coverage of SMEs
The revision of the standard will give ISO 22000 the same format as other management systems standards (MSSs) and it will follow an identical structure with texts, terms and definitions. This will ensure coherence between the standards, simplifying their integrated use and facilitating the reading and understanding of users.
The revision group will meet again in Mid-October to deliver a second version of the working document. All going well the standard is expected to be published in 2017.
Source:
ISO 22000 Update: http://www.iso.org/iso/home/news_index/news_archive/news.htm?refid=Ref1951
