New ISO Handbook Aids in Certifying Food Safety Management Systems

The International Organization for Standardization handbook combines ISO/TS 22003 and ISO/IEC 17021, which contain all that a certification body must know when performing audits or certification.

The International Organization for Standardization has issued a handbook that combines ISO/TS 22003 and ISO/IEC 17021, two standards that contain all that a certification body must know when performing food safety management system audits or certification.

Certification to a food safety management system standard, such as ISO 22000, can help to reassure customers that the organization has implemented a system for managing food safety in line with its policy. But this works only if there is confidence in the certification, ANSI notes, adding that "this is where ISO/TS 22003 can play a critical role, according to Jacob Faergemand, co-convenor of the group of experts who developed the document. The technical specification defines rules on, for example, auditor competencies and audit duration that certification bodies have to implement."

ANSI's release says the most important change in the latest edition of ISO/TS 22003 to which certification bodies will need to adapt is the shift from a "qualification-based approach" to a "competence-based approach" for the definition of auditor competence requirements.

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