Food supply chain safety is in the news as products from around the world enter into the U.S. food supply at an increasingly faster pace. Standardization is ideal for these types of issues, as it creates a baseline that both exporters and importers can agree on. For food safety, the ISO 22000 provides basic requirements for organizations throughout the food chain. And the new ISO 22004 standard provides you with clause-by-clause guidance on how to implement those requirements. Titled “Food safety management systems – Guidance on the application of ISO 22000,” it’s available from Document Center now.
Originally released as a Technical Specification, the new 1st Edition (dated September 1st 2014) is a technical revision of the document. Additionally, it assures the user that the information in the document will have permanent status as a standard (unlike the TS edition which by definition is only temporary).
Why would you want to use the ISO 22000 and it’s companion guidance document the ISO 22004? If your company is involved anywhere in the food chain, you need a methodology of ensuring compliance with regulatory and other legal requirements. You may also have customer requirements that the ISO 22000 system can address. And you’ll have a way to reduce the risk to public health that food products can be associated with.
The ISO 22004 is organized into four primary informative sections: Planning (Section 5), Implementation (Section 6), Verification (Section 7) and Improvement (Section 8). This follows the general mantra of all quality systems: Plan, Do, Check, Act. As noted above, within these sections, guidance is provided for each of the sub-clauses in the ISO 22000.
Another great feature of the new guidance document are the charts and text that show you the relationship of the various standards in the ISO 22000 series. And there’s also general information on the structure of the ISO 22000 itself, providing you with both visual and textual support for the workflow and responsibilities you’ll need to implement this quality system.
ISO 22004 also provides you with tips on using outside resources, how the ISO 22004 relates to each of the 4 other ISO 22000 standards, and on using training and learning to provide improvement and motivation. The document closes with a 16 item bibliography for further review.
Of course, if the ISO 22004 applies to your situation, you’re going to need a copy of the document. Turn to Document Center Inc. You can order online at our webstore, www.document-center.com. Or you can contact our staff by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). The ISO standards are available in paper format, for single-user pdf download, or as part of our multi-user access Standards Online service.
You’ll find Document Center has plenty of support services that will make it far easier to meet your documentation requirements for any quality program. We’ve been working with customers like you since 1982 from our Silicon Valley location. Make us your Standards Experts!
