The document discusses various ISO standards related to food quality and safety, including ISO 9000 series, ISO 22000, ISO 14000, and ISO 15161. It provides an overview of ISO as an international standard-setting body, describes the development and benefits of key food safety standards, and gives examples of standards that address issues like quality management, environmental management, food safety management, and integrating quality management with food safety systems.
1. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARD (ISO) AND
ITS STANDARD FOR FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY (ISO 9000
series, ISO 22000, ISO 15161 ,ISO14000)
ABSTRACT
Food which consumer gets should be safe and of good quality. The food has a
number of Quality Assurance (QA) systems available like GMP (Good
manufacturing practices), HACCP (Hazard AnalysisCriticalControlPoints), and ISO
(International Organisation of Standardisation) standards. These systems and
their combinations are recommended for food quality and safety assurance.The
agri-food production requires a specific approach to achieve the expected quality
level. It is important to know what extent the systems contribute to the product
and to balance the tools used for achieving the quality and safety objectives.ISO
has various series of standards. These standards help in maintaining food safety
and quality
KEYWORDS
Food safety, standards, ISO, quality management, environmental management.
INTRODUCTION
Standard is an agreement developed by several parties with the intent that all parties follow
A standardis a document that provides requirement, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics that
can be used consistently to ensure that material, products, processes and services are fit for their
purpose.
The international organization for standardization(ISO) is an international standard- setting body
composed of representatives from various national standard organization .Founded on 23 February
1946; the organization promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards. It is
headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and works in 164 countries.
It was first organization granted general constitutive status with the United Nations Economics and
Social Council. It is the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards and it facilitates
world trade by providing common standards among nations. More than 20 thousand standards have
beenset, covering everything from manufactured products and technology to food safety, agriculture
and healthcare. The world population is growing rapidly and many food products repeatedly cross
national boundaries to meet our rising demand for food. International standards help to address this
challenge inasafe and sustainable way,throughguidance andpractice infoodproduction methods and
testing, to promote safety, quality and efficiency across entire food industry.
2. Use of standardsaidsin the creationof product and servicesthatare safe,reliable, and of good quality.
The standardsalso helpbusinessesincrease productivitywhileminimizing error and waste. By enabling
products from different markets and assist in the development of global trade on a fair basis .The
Standardalsoserve to safeguardconsumersandendproductsandservices, ensuring certified products
conformto the minimumstandardssetinternationally. BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) is the National
standardbodyof Indiaand isa foundermemberof ISO,BISrepresentsIndiainISO.Regionaloffice of BIS
is located at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and New Delhi.
DEVELOPMENT OF ISO
1906- international Electro-technical Commission
1926-International Federation of the National Standardising Association(ISA)
1946-London –Delegates from 25 countries decided to create a new international
organization”the object of which would be to facilitate the international coordination and
unification of industrial standards”
1947-ISO began to officially function
1951-The first ISO standard was published
International Standards are the main products of ISO. It also publishes technical reports, technical
specifications, publicly available specifications, technical corrigenda, and guides.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
These are designatedusingthe formatISO[/IEC][/ASTM][IS]nnnnn[-p]:[yyyy]Title,where mmmmmisthe
numberof the standard,pisan optional partnumber,yyyyisthe year published, and title describes the
subject.IECforInteernational Electrotecnical Commissionisinclude if standard results from the work of
ISO/IEC.ASTM (American society of testing and materials) is used for standards developed in
cooperation with ASTMinternational.
BENEFITS FROM ISO STANDARDS FOR FOOD
Benefits of ISO standards goes to industry and consumers
Industry
All playersinthe foodsupplychain,be theyfarmers,manufacturesorretailers,canbenefitfromthe
guidelinesandbestpracticescontainedinISOstandards,whichrange fromfoodharvestingtoproduct
packaging.Inaddition,internationallyagreedstandardshelpfoodproducersmeetlegal andregulatory
requirements
Consumers
ISO standards address issues relevant to consumers such as food safety, nutritional labeling, hygiene,
foodadditive andmore.Theygive consumersthe peace of mindthatcomeswithknowingthe foodthey
consume meets high standards for safety and quality and contains what it says on the tin
POPULAR STANDARDS
ISO 9000 Quality Management
3. ISO 14000 Environmental Management
ISO3166 Country Codes
ISO26000 Social Responsibility
ISO50001 Energy Management
ISO22000 Food Safety Management
ISO31000 Risk Management
ISO270001 Information Security Management
WHAT STANDARD DOES ISO HAVE FOR FOOD?
Of the more than 21500 international standardsandrelateddocuments,ISOhasmore than1600 related
to foodsector,withmanymore in development.These cover-Foodproducts, Foodsafetymanagement,
Microbiology, Fisheries and aquaculture, Essential oils, Starch and its by products.
Below is a selection of ISO technical committees and ISO standards dedicated to food products, food
safety, microbiology and related sectors.
Food products
• ISO/TC 34, Food products
Many of ISO’sstandardsrelatedtofoodare developedbythisISOtechnical committee.Createdin1947,
it isone of ISO’soldestand most prolific committees, with over 830 published standards and 125 more
in development. With its numerous subcommittees and working groups, its scope covers everything
from food products, such as coffee, meat, milk, spices and cocoa, to vitamins, animal welfare,
microbiology and more.
• ISO/TC 34/SC 5 ,Milk and milk products
Witha portfolioof over180 standards,thissubcommittee playsan important role in the safety, quality
and reliability of milk products throughout the dairy chain, from primary production to final
consumption.These standardsinclude methodsandguidelines for testing and analysing the quantities
of componentslikeproteinand micronutrients in milk. Melamine and milk Following the 2008 scandal
where infant formula in China was contaminated with melamine, resulting in several deaths and
thousandsof babieshospitalized,ISOandthe International Dairy Federation put together the technical
specification ISO/TS 15495, Milk, milk products and infant formulae – Guidelines for the quantitative
determination of melamine and cyanuric acid by LC-MS/MS, an internationally recognized means for
regulatory authorities, manufacturers and producers to determine the presence of melamine in milk.
• ISO20633 Infantformula and adultnutritionals –Determinationof vitamin E and vitamin A by normal
phase high performance liquid chromatography
Thisstandard specifiesimportanttestmethodsforthe quantitative determinationof vitaminsand other
micronutrientsininfantformula,tohelpensure thatitsnutritional content conforms to its declaration.
• ISO/TC 34/SC 4Cereals and pulses
4. Forming another key area of standardization, this ISO technical committee has over 60 standards for
cerealsandpulsescoveringterminology,sampling,methodsof testandanalysis,productspecifications,
and requirementsforpackaging,storage and transportation. Examples include the four-part series ISO
21415 forthe determinationof gluten content in wheat and the ISO 6322 series, in three parts, for the
safe and hygienic storage of cereals and pulses
ISO 9000 Standard series
The ISO 9000 familyof standardsrepresentsaninternationalconsensusongood management practices
withthe aimof ensuringthatthe organization can deliver the product or services that meet the clients
quality requirements. These good practices are set of standardized requirements for a quality
management system. The technical Committee and its sub- committee of ISO are responsible for the
development of ISO 9000 standards.ISO 9000 series had a major revision in the year 2000 when three
standards(9001,9002,9003) were combinedintoone called,9001. Designanddevelopment procedures
are requiredonlyif acompany is in fact engaged in the production and development of new products.
ISO9001 made a radical change inthinkingbyactuallyplacingthe conceptof processmanagement front
and centre. The processmanagementreferstothe monitoringandoptimizationof acompany’staskand
activities, instead of just relying on inspection of final product .This standard also demanded
involvement by upper management in order to integrate quality into the business system and
preventing handing over the quality functions.
The ISO 9000 series are based on seven quality management principle (QMP)
These are:
QMP1-Customer focus
QMP2-Leadership
QMP3-Engagement of people
QMP4- Process approach
QMP5- improvement
QMP6-Evidence based decision making
QMP7- Relationship Management
ISO 9000-A guide
ISO 9001-a set of requirements for the quality system of the supplier
ISO9002-product standards
ISO 9003-final inspection and testing
ISO 9004-Guidelines for developing and implementing quality system principles, structures, auditing,
and review
ISO 22000Food safety management
• ISO22000, Food safetymanagement systems – Requirements for any organization in the food chain,
developedbyISO/TC34/SC17, Managementsystemsforfood safety ISO has a number of International
Standards aimed at ensuring food safety throughout the supply chain. The ISO 22000 family addresses
foodsafetymanagementbyprovidingguidelinesandbestpractice formanagingrisksinall areasof food
production. ISO 22000 is a certifiable standard that sets out the overall requirements for a food safety
5. managementsystem.Itdefinesthe stepsanorganizationmusttake todemonstrate itsability to control
foodsafetyhazardsand ensure thatfoodissafe for humanconsumption.ISO22000 isone of ISO’s best-
known standards, with 32 061 certificates issued in 2015 alone. Within its broad scope, the ISO 22000
family includes standards specific to catering, food manufacturing, farming, packaging, and animal
foodstuffs and feed production.Various standards included in ISO 22000 are-
ISO22000 - Foodsafetymanagementsystems - Requirementsforanyorganization inthe foodchain.
ISO22001 - Guidelinesonthe applicationof ISO9001:2000 for the foodand drinkindustry(replaces:ISO
15161:2001).
ISO/TS22002- Prerequisite programmesonfoodsafety—Part1:Foodmanufacturing;Part2: Catering;
Part 3: Farming;Part4: Foodpackagingmanufacturing;Part6: Feedandanimal foodproduction
ISOTS 22003 - Foodsafetymanagementsystemsforbodiesprovidingauditandcertificationof food
safetymanagementsystems.
ISOTS 22004 - Foodsafetymanagementsystems - Guidance onthe applicationof ISO22000:2005.
ISO22005 - Traceabilityinthe feedandfoodchain - General principlesandbasicrequirementsfor
systemdesignandimplementation.
ISO22006 - Qualitymanagementsystems - Guidance onthe applicationof ISO9002:2000 for crop
production.
ISO22000 isalso usedasa basisforthe FoodSafetySystemsCertification(FSSC) Scheme FSSC22000.
FSSC22000 isa Global FoodSafetyinitiative(GFSI)approvedscheme.
ISO 14000 STANDARD
ISO 14000 is a general term term used for ISO 14000 families of standards.This standard
provides for the framework for the management system for an organization to meet its
environmental obligations reliably and consistently. Provides framework for pollution
prevention and waste reduction, compliance with legislative and regulatory
requirements,reduction in risks, competitive advantage for ‘Green Products globally, creation of
an improved community goodwill, improved environmental performance. It assures customers
of commitment to demonstrate environmental management, improved industry government
relations, helps in conservation of raw materials and energy, incidents that result in liability.ISO
14000 addresses six distinct but related subjects like Environmental Management system(EMS),
Environmental Auditing(EA), Environmental performance evaluation(EPE), Environmental
labeling(EL), Life cycle Assessment(LCA), and Environmental aspects in Product standard(EAPS)
ISO 15161 STANDARD
It was prepared by ISO technical committee ISO/TC34, Food products .The international
standard gives guidance to organizations applying the requirements of ISO 9001 during the
development and implementation of a quality management system in food and drink industry.
The IS gives information on the possible interaction of ISO 9000 series of standards and the
hazard analysis and critical control point(HACCP) systemfor food safety requirements.
6. ISO 9004 gives guidance on a wider range of objectives of a quality management systemthan
does ISO 9001,particularly for the continual improvement of an organization’s overall
performance and efficiency, as well as its effectiveness.
ISO 9004 is recommended as a guide for organizations whose top management wishes to move
beyond the requirements of ISO 9001, in pursuit of continual improvement of performance.
This International Standard has been aligned with ISO 14001:1996 in order to enhance the
compatibility of the two standards for the benefit of the user community. This International
Standard does not include requirements specific to other management systems, such as those
particular to environmental management, occupational health and safety management,
financial management or risk management. However, this International Standard enables an
organization to align or integrate its own quality management systemwith related
management system requirements. It is possible for an organization to adapt its existing
management system in order to establish a quality management system that complies with the
requirements of this International Standard. There is a need for guidance on implementing the
requirements of ISO 9001 for organizations involved in all aspects of the food and drink
industry. This includes organizations involved in sourcing, processing and packaging food and
drink products. This International Standard aims to encourage the use of the ISO 9000 series of
standards within the food and drink industry – the use of these standards alongside other
common systems in use in this sector may assist an organization to better address customer
satisfaction and organizational effectiveness by the effective implementation of a quality
management system.ISO 9001 also requires organizations to seek to continually improve their
quality management systems, an aspect often missing from other models of food safety
management commonly used in the food and drink industry .The adoption of a quality
management system needs to be a strategic decision of the organization. The design and the
implementation of an organization’s quality management system is influenced by varying
needs: the particular objectives, the products provided, the processes employed and the size
and structure of the organization. ISO 9001 focuses on customers' needs and expectations. One
of the most important customer expectations is to have safe food products. ISO 9001 allows an
organization to integrate its quality management systemwith the implementation of food
safety systems such as HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point). The internationally
recognized principles and steps of HACCP are defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in
its recommended international code of practice on general principles of food hygiene. Any
other accepted food safety system can, of course, also be integrated into the quality
management system. However, considering the fact that HACCP is widely used
comprehensively, this systemwas chosen to demonstrate how integration may be achieved.
The application of HACCP within a quality management systemconforming to ISO 9001 can
result in a food safety systemthat is more effective than the application of either ISO 9001 or
HACCP alone, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and improved organizational
effectiveness
SUMMARY
This article deals with the basic introduction of the international organization of
standardization: its formation, various standards incorporated, how these standards are related
7. to food industry. Brief discussion is done for the standards like ISO 9000 series, ISO 22000, ISO
14000, ISO 15161.