Home > FSSC 22000 Scheme Version 6.0 Food Safety Management System

What is FSSC 22000 Standard?

Combined with the ISO 22000 Food Safety Management standard with the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 220 or ISO/TS 22002-1: Part-1 Food Manufacturing and other additional requirements or ISO/TS 22002-1: Part-2 Packaging Requirement and other additional requirements

FSSC 22000 is Fully recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

GFSI is an organisation committed to benchmarking food safety management schemes with an aim towards fostering a convergence between food safety standards.

Why FSSC 22000?

FSSC 22000 Standard can be applied to a broad spectrum of organisations of any size of complexity in food manufacturing. This program is designed for food manufacturers who supply or plan to supply their products to major food retailers or major branded food companies.

Those manufacturers certified against ISO 22000 will only need a review on additional requirements in order to meet the FSSC 22000 certification scheme. Any organisation with an existing food safety program such as GMP or HACCP, can use such program as a platform and incorporate the elements of the combined ISO 22000 and PAS 220 into their existing system.

The organisation willing to export to US and Canada shall have to be certified for FSSC 22000. The certified organisation will be uploaded on FSSC 22000 website which is an added credibility for food exporters.

FSSC 22006 Food Quality Certification is latest standard under FSSC 22000 certification scheme.

Who can apply for FSSC 22000 certification?

The organisation irrespective of manufacturing or service industry involved in food & beverage manufacturing, food & beverage service, food & beverage trading, food & beverage warehousing, food & beverage transportation and food packaging, involved in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Horticulture, Fruits & Vegetables, Dairy Products, Meat & Meat Products, Fish & Fishery Products, Spices & Condiments, Nuts & Nut Products, Cereals, Bakery & Confectionery, Restaurants, Hotels, Fast Food Operations can benefit of certification and implementation FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System such as

• Organisational commitment towards  Food Safety
• develop internal system about Food Safety Hazard and Risk from process and product
• Develop Food Safety Monitoring Plan covering stages of inspections required to control manufacturing or service delivery process to eliminate, reduce or control health hazards and food safety risks from physical, chemical & microbiological contamination.
• Increase consumer confidence, community faith and stake holder confidence
• Reduce legal obligation related to product, service delivery such as Food Safety and Standards FSSAI Act, FSS Rules, Food Safety & Standard Rules.
• Global market access in terms of export and global recognition
• Independent of personal competency and high reliability on Food Safety Management System.
• Reduce Product Recall, Reduce Product Withdrawal, Reduce Non-Conformances, Reduce re-process, Reduce Legal Non-Compliances,
• Legal Compliance of Schedule 4 Compliance of FSSAI, FSSAI license conditions, FSSAI Inspection for India Organisations.
• Pre-Requisite Program, Operational PRP, Hazard Risk Evaluation, CCP Determination, HACCP Plan, Validation Plan, Verification Plan
• Food Safety concerned organisational approach
• Reduce Legal Obligation and compliance inspections. 

How to prepare for FSSC 22000 Certification?

• Carry out Gap Analysis, Food Safety Policy, Food Safety Objectives
• Determining role, responsibility and authorities, Identify and assemble core group, Appointment of Team Leader
• Management System Documentation: Level 1 to Level 4, Pre-Requisite Program, Operational PRPs, Hazard Evaluation, Critical Control Point, HACCP Plan, Food Safety Plan, Validation Plan, Verification Plan.
• Awareness Training to identified staff
• Internal Auditors Training for Conduct of Internal Audit
• Management Review Meeting
• Application to Certification Body
• Stage-1 Audit by Certification body for Readiness
• Final Stage-2 Certification Audit
• Non-conformance closure with evidence submit to Certification body
• Issue of FSSC 22000 Certificate by Certification body
• Verify your organisation name, address, contact details and scope of certificate online on www.fssc22000.com.

Competent and Expert Consultant can help you establish system according to FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System  Requirements. Consultants have profession method of implementing FSSC 22000 requirement.

FSSC 22000 Additional Requirements:

The FSSC 22000 Additional Requirements are mandatory criteria that organizations must implement and maintain, alongside ISO 22000:2018 and sector-specific Prerequisite Programs (PRPs), to achieve certification.

The specific requirements are detailed below:

Management of Services and Purchased Materials:

• Laboratory Analysis: Internal or external laboratories used for food safety verification must be competent, producing precise results using validated test methods (e.g., ISO 17025).
• Emergency Procurement: Organizations in categories C, D, I, FII, G, and K must have a documented procedure for emergency procurement to ensure product conformity.
• Restricted Substances: Categories C0, CI, CIII, and CIV must have a policy for procuring animals, fish, and seafood subject to the control of prohibited substances like veterinary medicines or heavy metals.
• Specifications Review: A process must be in place to review raw material and finished product specifications for continued compliance.
• Recycled Packaging: Category I organizations must establish criteria for using recycled packaging as raw material.

Product Labeling and Printed Materials

• Regulatory Compliance: Products must be labeled according to the statutory and regulatory requirements of the country of sale, including allergen and customer-specific information.
• Validation of Claims: Any label claims (e.g., nutritional, method of production) must be supported by evidence of validation and verified through traceability and mass balance systems.
• Artwork Management: Category I must establish artwork management and print control procedures to detect errors and manage changes.

Food Defense and Food Fraud Mitigation:

• Threat & Vulnerability Assessments: Organizations must conduct and document assessments to identify potential food defense threats and food fraud vulnerabilities.
• Mitigation Plans: Documented plans must specify mitigation measures and verification procedures for significant threats or vulnerabilities.
• Category FII (Brokering): These organizations must ensure their suppliers have both food defense and food fraud mitigation plans in place.

Management of Allergens:

• Allergen Plan: A documented plan is required that includes a list of allergens on-site, a risk assessment for cross-contamination, and implemented control measures.
• Verification: Testing (e.g., surface or product testing) must be used to verify the effectiveness of control measures.
• Training and Review: Personnel must receive specific allergen training, and the plan must be reviewed at least annually.

Environmental Monitoring:

• Risk-Based Program: Organizations in categories BIII, C, I, and K must have an environmental monitoring program for relevant pathogens, spoilage, and indicator organisms.
• Review Triggers: The program must be reviewed annually or when triggered by events like out-of-specification results, alerts, or product recalls.

Food Safety and Quality Culture:

• Objectives: Senior management must establish objectives for a positive food safety and quality culture, addressing communication, training, employee engagement, and performance.
• Plan: These objectives must be supported by a documented plan with targets and timelines.

Quality Control:

• Policy and Parameters: Organizations must establish a quality policy and quality parameters (e.g., testing, product release) in line with finished product specifications.
• Quantity Control: Procedures for unit, weight, and volume control must be implemented, including equipment calibration.
• Line Clearance: Procedures for line start-up and change-over must ensure all previous packaging and labeling are removed.

Transport, Storage, and Warehousing:

• Stock Rotation: A system using FEFO (First Expired, First Out) principles in conjunction with FIFO (First In, First Out) must be maintained.
• Tanker Cleaning: Organizations using or receiving products in tankers must have a documented risk-based plan for tanker cleaning and validation.

Additional Operational Requirements:

• Hazard Control: Specific requirements apply for packaging that provides a functional effect (e.g., shelf-life extension) and for foreign matter management, including a risk assessment for detection equipment like magnets or X-ray.
• Site Inspections: Routine site inspections and PRP checks (e.g., monthly) must be conducted to verify the maintenance of the processing environment.
• Product Design: A development procedure must ensure new products or changes are safe and legal, including shelf-life trials and validation of cooking instructions.
• Equipment Management: Organizations must have purchase specifications for hygienic design and a risk-based change management process for new or modified equipment.
• Food Loss and Waste: A policy must be in place to reduce food loss and waste, with controls for products donated or used as animal feed.

Communication and Multi-Site Requirements:

• Event Notification: Organizations must inform their certification body within three working days of serious events (e.g., natural disasters) or situations (e.g., public recalls, regulatory actions) that impact certification integrity.
• Multi-Site Organizations: Specific requirements for categories E, F, and G include central function management, annual internal audits of all sites, and rigorous internal auditor qualification standards.

The Additional Communication Requirements in the Scheme address mandatory notification of serious events and situations to the Certification Body and require organizations to implement suitable emergency preparedness and response processes.

The FSSC Assurance Platform has added a new feature. As per 20 March 2024, serious situations and/or serious events relating to the FSSC 22000 scheme must be reported in the Assurance Platform. This new feature includes registration of serious situations, receipt of notifications and upload functionalities. The Certification Body’s Integrity Program Manager – Primary (IPM Primary) is responsible for reporting the serious situations in the Assurance Platform and for the follow-up of actions.

FSSC must be notified within three (3) working days of serious situation as described above. For more details refer FSSC 22000 Scheme (Version-6) documents.

Download, Read and Share following reference documents enclosed below:

• Training Organization Requirements in relation to managing the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
• FSSC22000-V5-FSMA-PCHF-Addendum
• CB-Requirements-COVID-19-26-March-2020-final
• Overview-of-main-changes_Version-5
• Guidance_Food-Fraud-Mitigation_Version-5
• Guidance-GAP-analysis-NTA-8059-ISO-22002-5
• Guidance-Food Defense FSSC22000 Version-5.1
• Guidance ISO-22000-Interpretation FSSC22000 Version-5
• FSSC-22000-Scheme_Version-5.1
• FSSC-22000-Scheme_Version-6.0
• Guidance_Food-Fraud-Mitigation_Version-6.0
• Guidance_Food-Defense_Version-6.0

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