Can we, as consumers, ever be sure that the food we eat is 100% safe? If we want assurances that our food supply is safe, where do we begin?
ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management Systems
That issue is newly addressed with the September, 2005, release of ISO 22000:2005. ISO 22000 is the first international quality standard designed to work with cultural prescriptions and statutory codes. ISO 22000 is dedicated to improving consumer confidence in the food product and the process. It addresses every link in the supply chain, from the farm to the table, by focusing on your Food Safety Management System.
What is Safe Food?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) interprets “safe food” as food in which illness-causing substances (bacteria, chemicals, etc.), when they are present, are within acceptable levels. Through food research, the definition of “acceptable levels” is continually changing – for the better, it is hoped.

In the United States, foodborne diseases have been
estimated to cause 6 million to 81 million illnesses
and up to 9,000 deaths each year
- CDC Website

But even as we have become better informed individuals with regard to food safety, we have become more removed from the process of food production. For generations, people in “developed countries” have purchased their food from the supply chain, which has lengthened with each generation.
As the supply chain has lengthened, the risk of encountering food hazards – any biological, chemical, or physical agent that is reasonably likely to cause illness or injury in the absence of its control – has increased. Do we need more control?
Hazard Access Critical Control Points - HACCP

A critical control point is a step in which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce it to an acceptable level, or a point or procedure in a specific food system where loss of control may result in an unacceptable health risk. I think we all would agree that hazards are waste that must be eliminated from our food supply.
Examples of food supply hazards include:

Disease or insects;
Contamination, pesticides, or bioterrorism.

Mishandling or improper preparation;
Unsanitary conditions;
Mislabeling or improper storage;
Transportation (not inherently a hazard but the more ingredients have to be shipped over greater distances, the greater the chance of hazard);
Multiple governing & inspection bodies (USDA, FDA, FSIS, CDC, EPA, USDHS, NAS, NCFST, BRC, IFST, FSANZ, FSAI, ad infinitum) with plenty of opportunity for conflict because of little-to-no coordination; and

Lack of resources (money and people trained in food safety will always be in short supply).

There are guidelines to follow, such as the BRC standard of 1996 and HACCP (a set of principles but not a true standard) but up to now, there has not been a single, internationally recognized food safety standard that applies to every link in the supply chain. That is, not until ISO registration to ISO 22000.
While food safety is not guaranteed simply by virtue of a standard, with implementation and ISO compliance with a standard like ISO 22000 up and down the food supply chain, consumers will have greater confidence in the food system and be reasonably assured that the food they purchase is safe for them and their families.
ISO 22000 Food Safety Auditor/Lead Auditor classes are available now. ISO 9000 Quality Auditor classes are forming now for Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor or call for your own private in-house classes today.

To learn more about working smarter using process improvement programs for your organization, attend the next How to Align a System of People and Processes for Results class. If you are eager to learn more about creating more order out of the chaos you are feeling at work, the How to Create Well-Defined Processes class is right for you.
In our next article, we will be taking a closer look at the new ISO 22000 standard.

By: Chris Anderson

Article Source: Article Hub