ISO 22000:2018 - Analysing the text - Clause 4 (Part 1)

 

With this post I begin the analysis of the different elements of food safety management systems (FSMS) that ISO 22000: 2018 standard establishes as requirements.

In previous posts I have been presenting to you an analysis of the context of the ISO 22000: 2018 standard, which has covered from the information which International Organization for Standardization (ISO) presents on its website, both for  management systems standards in general, such as this standard in particular, going through the introductory elements of this document, such as the Foreword and Introduction of the standard itself and its clauses: 1. Objective and field of application, 2. Normative references, 3. Terms and definitions, ending with the complementary elements, such as Bibliography and the informative annexes of this standard.

Let us now begin the study of the text of ISO 22000: 2018 standard, that is, of the normative elements that make up the technical body of this standard, and which are those that comprise clauses 4 to 10 of said document. Therefore, this time I will begin with the analysis of the content of the first of these, which is clause 4. Context of the organization.

I consider it important to clarify, at the outset, that when in previous posts I have referred to the context of the standard, it has been in relation to the content of the ISO 22000: 2018 standard, to all the information that this document provides, both preliminary and complementary, but not part of the clauses that contain requirements, that is, it is outside the normative content of this standard. This context is made up of the different elements of the ISO 22000: 2018 standard included in the next list:

 

Now, that I am analysing the clause 4. Context of the organization, this context obviously refers to the context of the organization that would be using the standard, and not to the elements that make up the standard itself. I hope I am not confusing you with the usage of this term.

Now, when starting the analysis of those clauses that contain the requirements, the normative body of this ISO 22000: 2018 standard, as I mentioned previously, we find that clause 4, the first of this group, which is called “Context of the organization”, and which is made up of four sub-clauses, which are the following:

 

If you did not have prior knowledge of what this ISO 22000: 2018 standard is about, it is not difficult to imagine that when accessing the text of these clauses that contain requirements, you would be feeling a bit discouraged because you could not understand some of the requirements presented, and maybe even none of them. That is why it is recommended that you prepare yourself to obtain sufficient knowledge about what a food safety management system is and about this particular standard, either from a leader within your organization, who has the knowledge and the patience to instruct you, or through a course or training program that provides you with this knowledge and a little experience in its analysis, so that you can understand these requirements, and from there, establish the elements in your food safety management system, that they meet those requirements appropriately.

With the various posts on this blog, referring to food safety management systems, I will try to present to you relevant information so that these requirements of ISO 22000: 2018 standard can be better understood.

Interestingly, as I have previously mentioned in some other post, this clause 4, with which we are beginning this analysis, is characterized by being the least understood and the worst applied of all the clauses of this standard. For this reason, I will try to explain to you in this blog what, in my understanding, is the correct way to read, analyse and comprehend all the clauses of the ISO 22000: 2018 standard, but particularly this clause 4, so that you can correctly identify the elements of the food safety management system that this standard is requiring.

At this moment, however, I am going to give you two tips so that you can better understand the broad concepts and requirements established in the aforementioned standard:

1) Do not focus, initially, on any food product. You better focus on the organization that makes that product.

2) Clearly identify and understand what a control measure is for a food safety hazard.

Regarding the first advice, I can tell you that usually, when some person approaches to first read this standard, he or she does so thinking that he or she is going to achieve safety food products, particularly in the one or those that he or she obviously has a personal interest. 

However, when he or she starts reading the requirements of this standard, if he or she is thinking about that or those products, it will be very difficult for him or her to understand any requirement established in the standard, as all of these requirements are organization oriented and not considering any particular food product.                

Regarding the second advice, it is important that you bear in mind that the application of all the requirements of the ISO 22000: 2018 standard lead an organization to plan, establish, operate, maintain and improve the control measures on its current and potential food safety hazards, with the aim of preventing, eliminating, or reducing them to an acceptable level. The entire food safety management system revolves around the application of these control measures by the organization.

I will tell you that both this standard and the others that ISO has issued regarding management systems, identify practices that are used by some organizations, generally leaders in their areas of competence and that are considered references of the "state of the art" in matters of management. These practices are not developed or invented by the ISO technical committees, although they are presented, analysed and voted on in these technical committees to be included in those standards. Similarly, it is important to mention that when a requirement is included in an international standard, it is because it is considered that it will generate a greater benefit than the cost that it may represent for an organization to comply with it. None of these requirements is included in a standard just to make life difficult for organizations, their managers or their staff.

Therefore, we should consider that if an organization decides that it is going to implement a standardized management system, such as this one for food safety, it is important that its managers and key personnel understand the value and relevance of each of the requirements, know, interpret and apply them correctly, to generate that value and achieve the expected benefits of the application of the entire management system.

With the intention of preparing ourselves to start the analysis of the different sub-clauses derived from clause 4. Context of the organization, it is important that we consider that understanding the context of an organization is a process that determines the factors that influence the purpose, objectives and sustainability of the organization. It considers internal factors such as the values, culture, knowledge and performance of the organization. It also considers external factors, such as legal, technological, competitive, market, cultural, social and economic environments. The vision, mission, policies and objectives are examples of the ways in which the purpose of an organization can be expressed.

Additionally, part of this process for understanding the context of the organization is to identify its interested parties and know their needs and expectations about the performance of the organization. This concept of interested parties extends beyond a customer-only approach, as it is important to consider all relevant interested parties, which are those that pose significant risk to the sustainability of the organization if their needs and expectations are not met. Organizations define what results are necessary to provide to those relevant interested parties to reduce such risk.

Organizations should attract, enlist and retain the support of the relevant interested parties on whom they depend for their success.

In the next post I will continue with the analysis of clause 4. Context of the organization.

 

Author:

Ernesto Palomares Hilton