ISO 22003-1:2022: food chain categories and ISO 22000 scope wording

ISO 22003-1:2022 is the standard an accredited certification body follows when it audits and certifies a food safety management system (FSMS) against ISO 22000. It fixes how the scope on the certificate is written: for each site, a food chain category or subcategory from its Table A.1, and a brief description of the main activities or processes audited. The same category then sets the auditor competence needed and the minimum audit duration.

What the document is

ISO 22003-1:2022 is an International Standard, first edition, dated 2022-06. Its Foreword states that it cancels and replaces ISO/TS 22003:2013, technically revised throughout. It is used in combination with ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 and adds food-specific requirements to it.

Clause 1 and its Note 3 set two limits. FSMS certification does not attest to the safety or fitness of an organization's products, and certification to ISO 22000 is a management system certification, not a product certification. Clauses 8.3 and 8.4 keep the certificate off the product: no FSMS certification mark on a product or its packaging, and no statement on packaging that the client has a certified FSMS.

The food chain categories

Annex A is normative. Its Table A.1 divides the food chain into categories, some split into subcategories. The codes and names, as printed:

• A Farming or handling of animals: AI Farming of animals for meat/milk/eggs/honey; AII Farming of fish and seafood
• B Farming or handling of plants: BI Farming – Handling of plants (other than grains and pulses); BII Farming – Handling of grains and pulses; BIII Pre-process handling of plant products
• C Food, ingredient and pet food processing: CO Animal – Primary conversion; CI Processing of perishable animal products; CII Processing of perishable plant-based products; CIII Processing of perishable animal and plant – Products (mixed products); CIV Processing of ambient stable products
• D Feed and animal food processing
• E Catering/food service
• F Trading, retail and e-commerce: FI Retail/wholesale; FII Brokering/trading
• G Transport and storage services
• H Services
• I Production of packaging material
• J Equipment
• K Chemical and bio-chemical

A note to the table describes "perishable" as food that can spoil and has to be kept under temperature control. CIV covers products stored and sold at ambient temperature, such as canned foods, biscuits, oil and pasta.

One scope may cover several categories or subcategories. The table's clusters, such as primary production, can be used for the accreditation scope of certification bodies (footnote a). A certificate is written at a finer level: clause 8.2 requires it to identify in detail the categories and subcategories to which the FSMS applies.

What the scope statement has to say

Clause 9.1.2.2 requires the certification body to use Annex A to define the scope. The scope statement shall:

• identify the category or subcategory in scope for each site;
• briefly describe the main types of activities or processes for the products or services audited.

Clause 9.1.2.3 sets three limits. The scope shall not be misleading. It shall not exclude activities, processes, products or services that can influence the food safety of the end products, as defined by the legal responsibility of the organization's activities. And it shall not include promotional statements, brands or claims.

ISO/IEC 17021-1 §8.2.2 f) asks the same of every management system certificate: a scope for each site "without being misleading or ambiguous". For a sampled multi-site organization, clause 9.1.5.9 adds the processes at each sampled site to the scope.

Where the wording starts: ISO 22000 clause 4.3

The certified scope starts from the scope the organization sets for itself. ISO 22000:2018 clause 4.3 requires that scope to specify the products and services, processes and production sites included, and to include the activities, processes, products or services that can have an influence on the food safety of its end products. ISO 22000 defines an end product (3.15) as one that will undergo no further processing or transformation by the organization.

One test binds both sides: what can affect the safety of the end products stays in the FSMS and in the certified scope.

Clause 9.1.4.2 requires audit duration to be determined with Annex B and recorded with its justification. Clause B.3.2 gives the minimum initial certification audit duration, in days, as:

Ds = (TD + TH + TFTE)

TD is the basic site audit duration for the category or subcategory, including one hazard analysis study (defined in 3.2). TH is the number of audit days for additional studies. TFTE is the number of audit days set by the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Where a scope covers several categories or subcategories, clause B.3.2 says to use the one with the highest TD value to determine Ds, and to combine the studies and FTE of all of them.

The category also decides whether a multi-site organization can be sampled. Under clause 9.1.5.4, sampling is permitted for categories A, B, F and G, and for category E only for re-heating-type facilities with limited preparation or cooking. It is not permitted for any other category in Annex A.

Two timing rules

• The interval between stage 1 and stage 2 shall not be longer than six months; a longer interval means stage 1 is repeated (9.3.6).
• Audit timing and season are chosen so the team sees the organization operating on a representative number of the product lines or services in scope (9.1.3.2).

What this means for you

If you are a buyer: read the category code and the activity wording against the product you buy and the site it comes from. A product or site the scope does not name is not covered.

If you are applying for certification: the certification body uses the product and process information you give at application (9.1.1) to set your category and audit duration.

If you are certified and adding a product line, a process or a site: raise it with your certification body before relying on the certificate for it. The scope covers what has been audited.

This is generic information about the requirement, not advice on any particular management system.

CAS — An EGAC accredited MS certification body No. 012418. Accredited scope: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 22000, ISO 50001 and ISO 22301. Certificates accredited for ISO 9001, 14001, 45001, 22000 and 50001 fall within EGAC's IAF MLA scope; ISO 22301 is accredited by EGAC and sits outside that scope.

Verify any certificate: cas.com.eg/certsearch