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The Food Chain
By Oliver Cann
First Published in British Standards
Magazine (October 2005 Issue)
With the publication of ISO 22000 for food safety
management, a new tool has been added to the food safety portfolio. Oliver
Cann investigates its role and the prospects for success.
Concerns over food safety have been front-page news in recent years,
from mad cow disease to E.coli outbreaks, from the debate over Genetically
Modified foods to Sudan red dyes. In response to these concerns, the food
industry is active in trying to find solutions which improve food safety.
Existing food safety verification tools include the Dutch HACCP (Hazard
Analysis Critical Control Points) Code, the British Retail Consortium
(BRC) Global Food Standard, the International Food Standard (IFS), the
Safe Quality Food (SQF) protocol and the Euro-Retailer Produce Working
Group Good Agricultural Practices (EurepGAP) standard. All are actively
used to help food retailers manage their supply chains and each standard
supplies solutions in their respective markets.
Published in September 2005, ISO 22000 food safety management systems
– requirements for any organization in the food chain, is the
new kid on the food block. The product of an ongoing collaboration between
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the food
industry, it aims to be an international, auditable standard defining
food safety management along the entire food chain – “to ensure
that there are no weak links”, as the ISO website explains
[see box out below]. The intention is that ISO 22000 will sit alongside
the other existing food safety schemes and complement them by bringing
a common language and understanding of how food safety should be managed
all along the food chain.
According to the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO), ISO 22000 is intended to ensure that
there are no weak links in food supply chains. The standard “can
be applied to organizations ranging from feed producers, primary
producers through food manufacturers, transport and storage operators
and subcontractors to retail and food service outlets – together
with inter-related organizations such as producers of equipment,
packaging material, cleaning agents, additives and ingredients....
“ISO 22000 specifies the requirements for a food safety management
system in the food chain where an organization needs to demonstrate
its ability to control food safety hazards in order to provide consistently
safe end products that meet both the requirements agreed with the
customer and those of applicable food safety regulations.”
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“The kernel of the ISO 22000 idea was to have a HACCP-type standard,
with a basis of ISO 9001:2000 – in other words, to [build on] existing
systems and shape them into a clear, understandable, auditable structure
for the food and drink industry,” says Sarah Davies of Geest, the
leading fresh prepared foods and produce company in the UK and a major
international player. Davies chaired the UK drafting committee on ISO
22000.
While ISO 22000’s main difference from other standards lies in its
scope and international applicability, it also differs from standards
such as BRC and IFS, in that it does not offer a prescriptive list of
requirements for good practice.
Instead, in acknowledgement of the fact that it would be impossible to
name all requirements for all types of food businesses, it puts the onus
on the food company to define the best practice that is most relevant
to it.
The working group that developed the standard involved members from 14
different countries and representatives from a number of other organizations,
including Codex Alimentarius and the Confederation of the Food and Drink
Industry of the European Union (CIAA). Given the global nature of the
food industry, it was important that ISO 22000 be developed with international
and cross-industry consensus. According to Davies, this approach represents
the standard’s greatest strength.
“The drafting process was very positive. It was hard work, but it
was great to be working with people from around the world who had the
same passion we did,” she says. “ISO 22000 followed the standard
development process: there were a lot of comments and each one had to
be addressed by the working group. It’s an international standard
and it’s come through all the voting processes the stronger for
it.”
One of the benefits of running ISO 22000 is that it offers synergies to
companies who have already implemented other ISO management systems. For
example, ISO 22000 uses the same systematic approach as ISO 9001 and the
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard, making it easy to
incorporate it into an integrated risk-based management system.
For Denise Graham of Tetley, one of the companies chosen to run ISO 22000
as a pilot study, its value as a business tool was fundamental to their
decision to deploy it.
“Tea bags are one of the lowest risk food products: they’re
long lasting, dry, contained in paper and they’re not ingested.
While we currently have a HACCP system in place, it’s not verified
independently as we felt the existing standards, such as BRC, were aimed
at higher risk food products.
“However, we’ve implemented other ISO standards – including
ISO 9000 Quality Management System, 14001 Environmental Management System
and now ISO 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Series – and we
considered it important that food safety was managed using our current
approach to managing our business, so that it could be integrated into
our other systems.
“We were able to integrate ISO 22000 much more easily into our policy
and systems. Our people are used to working with BRC and ISO standards.
If they weren’t, it might have been more difficult for us.”
Tetley plans to migrate to ISO 22000 later in the year, and is currently
in the process of recruiting a new quality manager to manage this project.
Implementation is a key issue for any firm seeking to roll out a new quality
standard, and ISO 22000 is no exception. Although Graham admits that Tetley’s
own adoption of the standard in draft format was made much easier by the
fact that she and her staff were familiar with both ISO and other food-related
standards, she says that compliance costs should not necessarily prohibit
smaller companies.
“The whole implementation process lasted six to eight months, which
was reasonable. It would have taken less time but we decided to link it
in with a communications and marketing campaign involving all our 600
employees.
“The cost depends on your level of preparedness. Our transition
wasn’t difficult – we felt we needed to review our business
anyway as we were moving into higher risk products such as herbal teas,
but I don’t feel the compliance cost was onerous. The requirements
are scope, policy, management review and audit requirements. It’s
not hard to pick up a standard and find the synergies but the fact that
it fits in very well with other ISO standards, and that we were all trained
in ISO and HACCP, made it easier still.”
Good international heritage and a broad bedrock of support in the drafting
stage are both important selling points for ISO 22000, but for Richard
Jones, health, safety and environment manager at Kellogg’s Manchester
(UK) plant, ISO 22000’s success will depend on its take up across
the food industry.
“ISO 22000 changed its emphasis during drafting,” he says.
“There were subtle changes that were made to the format of the document,
and of its position within the array of food management and safety-related
standards already out there. Initially it was positioned as a 9000 equivalent
for the food industry but the emphasis changed by the time it got to final
revision to becoming a global HACCP standard.
“This may be right for the UK – with standards such as BRC
already in place, the perceived need for 9000 had been receding recently,
for right or wrong reasons. Although it is still seen as an essential
part of due diligence in other places such as the Benelux, it was clear
that a customer-specific standard had become the primary need for some
manufacturers.
“The fact that ISO 22000 is a HACCP-equivalent is the key to its
success. It gives the food industry a useful trade tool for global business.
Whether it becomes successful or not in the UK though, will be down to
whether it gets taken up by small and medium sized businesses. In the
UK there are still a lot of food manufacturers that fit into this category.
To be a successful standard means medium sized businesses buying into
it and using it for due diligence and as a way of unlocking global supply
chains,” says Jones. “How much value it delivers depends on
the clients to whom they’re selling their product. It is too early
to say what kind of buy-in it will get.”
Jones adds: “The food sector is a very dynamic and proactive international
industry: it is important that retail procurers and companies ask themselves
whether the standard is relevant not just for customer and consumer protection
but also as a mechanism for putting all our food management safety practices
in place.
“All standards are released as an initial revision and are always
a compromise as they have to balance the interests of European and global
members. ISO 22000 will get revised, but as a first standard, it’s
very good.
“One of its other strengths is that, in its support of HACCP, it
has duly tackled pre-requisite programmes and brings clarity and definition
to them.
“At Kellogg’s, our standards are shaped by top-down corporate
initiatives as well as recognition of UK and European compliance, best
practice and market drivers. We recognize the ISO 22000 as a significant
HACCP standard, which may be appropriate for some markets. Kellogg’s
Manchester plant was the first manufacturer in the world to gain certification
to the BRC global food standard (issue 4). Strategically, we are always
looking to strengthen our due diligence and best practice.
“The UK has always been a strong supporter of ISO standards as part
of management systems and compliance. It will be interesting next year
to see what sectors are first to adapt to it,” Jones concludes.
“If applied as intended, it should assist food safety development.”
If you already have a food safety management
system in place, then migrating to ISO 22000 shouldn’t be
a drain on time and money, and could give you the competitive edge,
or so Wales-based food packaging manufacturer Bemis found when they
carried out a two-day pilot with BSI in August.
Says David Jones, quality systems manager at Bemis’ plant
in Swansea: “Whereas BRC is quite prescriptive, ISO 22000
looks beyond that by asking you to look at your internal system
and decide how you will achieve your aims. I don’t think it
will be a problem for us, but it will require us to change our mindset
from BRC, where you are told whether to do this, or do that.”
Bemis, which exports 80 per cent of its product to continental Europe,
now plans to apply for ISO 22000 as soon as it can, says Mike Bird,
plant manager at Swansea: “We had the report back from BSI
a couple of weeks ago and it was good – there were three or
four small non-conformities, which we’ll have no problem sorting
out. It’s not that we feel having ISO 22000 will instantly
lead to greater profits, but it’s always good to be one step
ahead of the competition and lead the way. In terms of customers,
they will vary from country to country, but food hygiene will become
more and more important and we just want to reinforce our system
so that we have everything in place to adapt to these changing demands.”
Since this pilot, meanwhile, New Season Foods Inc in the US has
become the first company to sign up for ISO 22000 certification
with BSI Americas. According to Mark Frandsen, president: “New
Season Foods Inc decided to pursue ISO 22000 because it is specifically
designed for the needs of food processing. The integration of food
safety with the best practices of manufacturing and management fits
with our company’s operating expectations. ISO 22000 certification
will serve as a clear signal to the market that New Season Foods
Inc will consistently meet customers’ product requirements.
ISO 22000 certification will set the company apart from other food
manufacturers.”
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Davies expresses similar cautious optimism that ISO 22000 will gain the
same recognition as its ISO stable mates in the pantheon of industrial
standards. It will need time and probably some follow-up work to bed itself
in.
“ISO 22000 is an accessible document in that it only lays down the
criteria: you make of it what you choose and it’s entirely up to
you how you show evidence of compliance,” she says. “I’ve
seen some beautifully formed, very small management systems and some ugly,
great, expensive ones too: size is no barrier to having a good management
system.”
For Davies, though, ISO 22000’s success or otherwise will be demand-led:
“BRC, the current standard for food manufacturers serving retailers
in the UK, is not like a business standard in that it is a retailer-specified
standard. Representatives from the retailer arena did attend the drafting
stage, but full acceptance has not happened yet.”
ISO 22000 does specify food safety system requirements, though it does
not set out prescriptive “good practices”. And as Davies points
out, “there is no way on earth that you could do this, as the document
would have to be huge – and this is one concern from retailers.
But other [national and industry] standards can be used within its context
and more documentation is likely to follow.
At the moment, ISO 22000 is just like ISO 9001 in that it is not industry
specific, rather a large horizontal document,” she adds, “but
there will be specific vertical documents published in due course relating
to specific parts of the food chain as the standard develops.” For
Davies, if ISO 22000 gets judged on the principles it sets out to address,
then its success should be assured: “Hopefully, ISO 22000 will lead
to more action in your typical food management system. It makes you look
at your cost processes and critical control points: a safe manufacturing
environment is not negotiable if you’re manufacturing food and drink
products. At the end of the day, it’s about taking the principles
of HACCP and using them within a good management system. Will this improve
the profitability of a food business? I work for a food manufacturer and
I know that you don’t negotiate on food safety. If anything can
adversely affect a business, it is issues with food safety.”
Joy Elizabeth Franks
Product Manager
Food & Consumer Products
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BSI Management Systems
Originally working as a process engineer and auditor in the automotive
industry I was challenged with setting up food safety and hygiene
GMP systems within the cosmetics/baby products/ medical devices and
food/ food packaging industries at several high profile manufacturers.
The statistical process control and lean manufacturing systems renowned
in the automotive industry are now part of many food related businesses.
Implementing FMEA concepts and traditional hazard analysis can result
in working HACCP and prerequisite plans. I have worked in the food
and food packaging industries for the last 10 years and Joined BSI
three years ago as an auditor for ISO9001 and food safety schemes
such as BRC. My current role of product manager has involved the development
of BSI food safety schemes in the UK including BRC global food, BRC/IoP
Global Packaging, BRC Global Consumer Products and ISO22000. Development
of training courses for the industry specific requirements, such as
non food HACCP courses for packaging and consumer goods industries
have also been much sought after.
If you require any information on seminars on ISO22000 taking place
soon please contact me directly.
BSI Management Systems
PO Box 9000, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK14 6WT
T: +44 (0)845 080 9000 (Office)
F: +44 (0) 151 677 3840
M: +44 (0)7919 166211
E: joy.franks@bsi-global.com
W: www.bsi-global.com
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BSI - Launch of ISO 22000 Food Safety Management Systems Standard:
Integrity in the Food Chain
ISO 22000 The auditable standard for Food Safety Management Systems
which sets out requirements for any organisation in the food chain
was released by the International standards organisation on the 1st
September 2005 and was adopted in the UK as the national standard
for food safety on the 8th September published as BSEN ISO 22000:2005.
In the UK from January 2006 hygiene regulations will require food
businesses to have a HACCP system and ISO 22000 is the vehicle to
demonstrate such a system is in place.
ISO 22000 is not a replacement or substitute for ISO 9001. It meets
a different need but does align to and can be integrated into ISO
9001 management systems. It fills the gap between meeting direct customer
requirements and satisfaction (ISO 9001) and ultimate consumer and
end user requirements necessary to ensure food is safe at the time
of human consumption (ISO 22000).
For more information on the standard and route to registration visit
www.bsi-uk.com/Food+Safety/index.xalter
BSI is running workshops on ISO 22000. For information visit www.bsi-global.com/Training/Food
To purchase a copy of the ISO 22000 standard or guide books available
on how to integrate your food safety management system into other
management systems please visit www.businessstandards.com
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