ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System and How to Obtain It in Saudi Arabia

The global food safety management system ISO 22000 is the most widespread food safety standard that can be applied to the entire food chain. Contrary to what some believe, this standard is not only for food factories but can be applied to all institutions that handle food directly or indirectly and in all parts of the Kingdom, such as:

• Food factories
• Feed factories
• Restaurants, hotel kitchens, and central kitchens
• Food packaging materials factories
• Food transportation and distribution companies and stores
• Food retail stores
• Farms for plant production (crops, vegetables, and fruits)
• Animal production farms (dairy, eggs, meat and apiaries)
• Providers of pest control and cleaning services for food establishments
• Food equipment factories
• Factories for cleaning and lubricating materials designated for food establishments
• Food supplement factories
• Food additive factories

Food safety is a source of interest and focus in Saudi Arabia, whether from the consumer or regulatory authorities. It is assumed that every organization concerned with the field of food should ensure that food safety is its greatest concern. Therefore, every food organization must establish a management system that demonstrates its ability to control and reduce food safety risks to ensure the highest level of consumer safety in the Saudi market.

Basic requirements of ISO 22000 food safety standard

Food safety is associated with food safety risks at the time of consumption. Food safety risks can occur at any stage of the food chain. Therefore, adequate control at all stages of the food chain is essential. Food safety is ensured through the joint efforts of all parties in the food chain. ISO 22000 specifies the requirements of a food safety management system, which are mainly based on the following elements:

• Initial prerequisite programs such as (pest control, hygiene and disinfection, personal hygiene, construction design, etc.)
• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles
• Interactive communication
• System management
• Customer focus
• Leadership and commitment of management
• Participation of all employees
• Process Methodology
• Continuous improvement
• Evidence-based decision-making
• Relationship management

ISO 22000: 2018 Specification Clauses

• Clause 4 Context of the organization
• Clause 5 Leadership
• Clause 6 Planning for the Quality Management System
• Clause 7 Support
• Clause 8 Operation
• Clause 9 Performance evaluation
• Clause 10 Improvement

Conditions that must be met to obtain ISO certification 2018 :22000:

From the above, every organization seeks to obtain the ISO 22000 certificate. To obtain it, the following must be taken into account:

• It must be an official organization recognized by the relevant authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through an appropriate registration or license.
• Applying for ISO 22000 to one of the bodies that grant the certificate is accredited and recognized by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.
• The organization’s full commitment and compliance with the requirements of the standard.
• The organization has a documented administrative system.
• The organization has documents and records as evidence of its system implementation.
• The organization’s dedication and guarantee of food safety management systems support and implementation.
• The organization must be able to correct errors, have immediate solutions to take action and implement alternatives to prevent problems before they occur or reduce their recurrence.
• The organization’s success in passing the reviews.

Benefits of Implementing ISO 22000 Food Safety System

• Requires meeting the regulatory and legal standards for food safety applicable to food safety systems
• Demonstrates commitment to customer satisfaction by confirming the safety of your supply chain and production processes
• follows the steps of the constitution closely, so the development of HACCP is now an integral part of the standard
• Enables your organization to sell your products through local and global food chains more easily
• Allows adoption and integration of your existing ISO management systems easy and provides greater efficiency in maintaining and auditing your system

Why are establishments seeking ISO 22000:2018 certification?

• Improving food manufacturing practices: Statistics indicate that 92% of establishments that implemented ISO 22000 achieved advantages in establishing strict procedures to improve food manufacturing practices, which ensures that the establishment provides safe and healthy food and reduces risks to food safety.
• Achieving customer and regulatory satisfaction: Statistics show that 97% of companies implementing the ISO 22000 system achieved customer and regulatory satisfaction. This means the facility can increase profits and reduce complaints and violations resulting from pollution and poisoning cases.
• For the organization’s competitive advantage: Statistics show that 73.3% of organizations implementing the ISO 22000 system achieve competitive advantages. This means that they win more business.
• Increasing sales volume/business: Statistics show that 32.5% of companies implementing the ISO 22000 system export and enter markets they had not dealt with before. This means they gain more business.
• Easy and economical: Obtaining the ISO 22000 certificate is no longer expensive and does not require time as it used to.
• Your competitor will get it soon: If your competitors do not have the ISO 22000 certificate, they may get it soon, as many food companies or those working in the food sector have obtained or are on their way to the certificate, and the longer you delay, the negative impact will be.
• Obtaining the ISO 22000 certificate is a prerequisite for food products to obtain a license to use the Saudi Quality Mark SASO.

Entities interested in obtaining the ISO 22000:2018 certificate

• All types of companies within the food chain, starting from feed factories and seed producers, ending with food product display markets, regardless of the activity or size of the facility.
• Food manufacturing companies, food trading companies, and food-related service providers
• Restaurants, central kitchens, and catering service providers
• Hospitals and hotels

Guidance Consulting and Training Company helps you obtain the certificate through establishing and training on the ISO 22000 system, and we provide evaluation and accreditation for the Hazard Identification and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system.

Guidance for Consulting and Training

We have the knowledge and experience to help institutions and individuals comply with the requirements of the Saudi Standards and Quality Organization, the Food and Drug Authority, and other entities that impose legal and mandatory requirements in the Saudi market.

To qualify your facility, train its personnel and fulfill the required documents to implement the quality and ISO systems.