What Is ISO 22000?

ISO 22000 is an international standard for managing food safety in organizations operating within the food chain. It helps identify and control potential hazards at different stages, from food production and processing to storage, transportation, and delivery to consumers.

The standard brings together HACCP principles, prerequisite programmes, and a management system approach. This means food safety is not limited to checks on individual products; it becomes part of the organization’s processes, responsibilities, and day-to-day operations. ISO 22000 can be implemented on its own or alongside other management systems, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

ISO 22000 applies not only to food manufacturers, but also to organizations involved in storage, transportation, packaging, catering, and other food-chain services. It provides a common framework for food safety management, but does not automatically replace applicable legal obligations or additional customer requirements.

Benefits of an ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System

ISO 22000 can provide organizations with benefits such as:

• Helping establish a systematic approach to food safety based on HACCP principles.
• Supporting the early identification of food safety hazards and the planning of appropriate control measures.
• Enabling processes to be managed without relying solely on final-product inspections.
• Making it easier to implement and monitor prerequisite programmes consistently.
• Helping clarify responsibilities and work processes related to food safety.
• Supporting communication among employees, suppliers, customers, auditors, and other relevant parties.
• Helping organizations plan and use resources more efficiently.
• Making it easier to monitor legal obligations related to food safety.
• Helping organizations demonstrate their approach to producing and providing safe food to customers and business partners.
• Strengthening brand reputation and stakeholder confidence.
• Supporting better alignment of shared processes when used alongside other management systems, such as ISO 9001.

Current Standard Information

The text you provided refers to ISO 22000:2005. That edition was replaced by ISO 22000:2018. ISO also published an amendment on climate action in 2024. A new edition of ISO 22000:2018 is currently under development, so the published current edition is ISO 22000:2018 together with the relevant 2024 amendment.