ISO 22000 Certification: Food Safety Management

• Obtain the standard:

Get a licensed copy of the relevant standard and familiarise yourself with the requirements to decide whether certification or registration to this standard is appropriate for your organisation.

• Review available literature and apply digital tools

Explore available literature, guidance from the standard owners (e.g. ISO/TS 9002 for ISO 9001, ISO 14004 for ISO 14001) and digital sources and tools that can support implementation. As a DNV customer, you also get access to tailored tools that can help you.

• Assemble a team and define strategy:

Implementing a management system should be a strategic decision for the entire organisation. Senior management must be engaged in the decision, committed to it, and involved in shaping the system. They decide the business strategy the management system should support. In addition, you need a dedicated team to develop and implement your management system.

• Determine competence needs:

First, your team responsible for implementing and maintaining the management system needs a thorough understanding of the chosen standards. Later, the wider organisation needs awareness training. DNV offers a variety of public and in-house courses worldwide that meet competence development needs at all levels of your organisation.

• Review consultant options:

Independent consultants can advise on a workable, realistic and cost-effective implementation strategy if you do not already have this competence or capacity in-house.

• Develop management system documentation: 

Decide on an appropriate platform for your documented information (e.g. software, process map- or SharePoint-based). The right platform is important to ensure effective management, communication and implementation.

• Determine, manage and document processes:

First, identify key processes – what they are, how they work and how they interact. Each process should have a clear purpose, defined responsibilities and expected outputs. The level of documented information needed depends on the organisation’s size, complexity and the importance of each process, but it must include the relevant processes and other documented information needed to deliver intended outcomes and comply with the chosen standard’s requirements.

• Implement management system:

Clear communication and appropriate competence training are essential. During the implementation phase, you will work to ensure that your organisation operates in line with defined and documented processes. Once this is achieved, you can demonstrate the system’s compliance and effectiveness.

• Select a certification body/registrar:

Selecting the right certification body or registrar can make a difference throughout your certification journey. DNV offers a trusted partnership approach, a risk-based approach and a range of free digital tools to help you manage your certification journey before, during and after the audit.

• Consider a pre-audit gap analysis:

Consider a preliminary evaluation by your certification body or registrar to identify and correct non-conformities before starting the official certification process. The purpose is to identify areas of non-conformance or weakness, allowing you to address them before the official certification process begins.

ISO 22000 is an internationally recognised standard for food safety management systems (FSMS). It sets out the requirements organisations can follow to manage food safety hazards and protect consumers.

Developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the standard is applicable to all organisations across the food chain, regardless of size or complexity.

ISO 22000 certification provides formal, independent verification that an organisation’s food safety management system (FSMS) meets the requirements of the ISO 22000 standard.

Following an audit by an accredited certification body, it demonstrates that effective controls are in place to manage food safety hazards and meet both regulatory and customer requirements. Once conformity is confirmed, a certificate is issued and maintained through regular surveillance audits.

Although certification is voluntary, it is increasingly expected by customers and suppliers, providing confidence that the organisation manages food safety in a consistent and reliable manner.

To achieve ISO 22000 certification, an organisation must first implement a food safety management system that meets the standard’s requirements and then undergo an audit by an independent, accredited certification body, such as DNV. 

This involves establishing and maintaining processes to identify and control food safety hazards, implementing prerequisite programmes, and managing operational controls in line with the standard.

Once the system is found to comply with ISO 22000 requirements, certification is granted and maintained through regular follow-up audits.