FOOD SAFETY

FSSC 22000: the content of the Food Safety System Certification scheme is approved by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The approved FSSC 22000 scheme documents are available on: www.fssc22000.com

The Foundation for Food Safety Certification has developed FSSC 22000, the ISO 22000 and PAS 220 certification scheme for food safety systems of food manufacturers. The scheme was sent to GFSI for approval on February 1, 2009. During the GFSI meeting in Barcelona the initiative was introduced to the public and received a very positive response.

The scheme documents have been reviewed by the GFSI benchmark committee. The remarks of the committee resulted in some minor changes of the scheme. Also there has been a discussion on the principle of using ISO/IEC Guide 65 accreditation for a scheme of this type. Because this discussion basically applies to all the schemes that are currently accepted under ISO/IEC Guide 65, FSSC 22000 is treated the same way as the other GFSI approved schemes and currently accepted for ISO/IEC Guide 65 accreditation.

The revised scheme documents together with the positive advice of the committee that the content of the scheme meets the GFSI requirements were sent to the GFSI Board for final approval. Once fully implemented, the FSSC 22000 certification scheme is expected to become the sixth standard to join the stable of GFSI recognized schemes. This was decided during the GFSI Board meeting of May 20, 2009. This means that FSSC 22000 certification audits can start. The names of the approved certification bodies will be published on the FSSC 22000 website.
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