What is FSSC 22000 –Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) Certification?

In this world of a growing population, the need for affordable, safe, and good quality products is rising. Furthermore, there is more awareness of customers for these products to be produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way. To answer this need, Foundation FSSC provides a trusted brand assurance platform to the consumer goods industry and  offers a complete certification Scheme FSSC 22000  for the auditing and certification of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS).

FSSC 22000 provides a framework for effectively managing an organization’s food safety responsibilities. The FSSC 22000 scheme contains ISO 22000 as one of the requirement standard along with additional requirements defined by FSSC , including universal procedures used to control the operating conditions in food factories and the specific requirements of the FSSC to ensure consistency, integrity and management of the system itself.

Why FSSC 22000 certification is important?

FSSC 22000 is fully recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and this GFSI recognition demonstrates that the FSSC 22000 scheme meets the highest standards globally leading to international food industry acceptance. This is because many companies require that their suppliers be certified to a GFSI recognized standard like FSSC 22000, whereas ISO 22000 is not recognized by GFSI.

What are the benefits of FSSC 22000 certification?

• Internal reccoginzation as approved by GFSI
• Organization details are posted in GFSI website which fetches more international business opportunities.
• Build stakeholder engagement and brand reputation
• Identifies and prevents hazards from contaminating food
• Identify, manage and mitigate food safety risks.
• Reduce and eliminate product recalls and litigation
• A preventative approach to food safety management
• Reduces the need for, and the cost of end product testing
• Provides evidence of due diligence
• Enhances customer satisfaction and reduces dissatisfaction
• Facilitates better understanding of food safety issues throughout the organization.

Who can acquire FSSC 22000 certification?

This FSSC 22000 certification is applicable for any food related organizations who wish to be a certified member of GFSI. The organizations may belong to whole food supply chain, from growers , producers to processors , packaging, transport, and point of sale. It extends to suppliers of non-food products and services, like cleaning and equipment manufacturers, and can be used by organizations of any size.

This FSSC 22000, can be implemented and certified by any  organization directly or indirectly involved in the food chain including- Farms, Fisheries and Dairies, Processors of Meats, Fish and Feed, including Manufacturers of soups, snacks, bread, cereal, beverages, canned and frozen food, etc as well as food service providers such as restaurants, fast food chains, and hotels.