What is ISO 22003?

ISO/TS 22003, ‘Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of food safety management systems’, is an ISO technical specification within the ISO 22000 series. It provides information, guidance and criteria for certification bodies carrying out audits and certification to ISO 22000, ‘Food safety management systems - requirements for any organization in the food chain’.

This new standard will affect accreditation bodies, certification bodies and auditors who are involved with certification and audit in the food supply chain to ISO 22000. IRCA certification manager, Robert Skelton-Stroud, stated that, ‘ISO/TS 22003 recognizes that effective audit means much more than competent auditors – it requires competent staff at all stages of the audit cycle.’ To this end ISO/TS 22003 includes requirements for the competence of auditors but also others involved in the planning and delivery of ISO 22000 certification audits: personnel doing contract review, personnel granting certification and technical experts. 

For auditors, ISO 22003 references ISO 19011, ‘Guidelines on quality and/or environmental management systems auditing’, but also includes:

  • specific food industry competence requirements for auditors, such as hazard analysis and critical control training
  • requirements for education in relevant food chain categories, such as farming, feed, processing, catering, transport, equipment, bio-chemicals, distribution, services and packaging

Robert went on to state that, ‘while IRCA would have liked to see ISO/TS 22003 take a more competence-based approach to auditors and other personnel, I believe this document will contribute to increased confidence in ISO 22000 certification for stakeholders of the global food supply chain - something that the global conformity assessment industry needs to deliver if it is to improve its damaged credibility.’

In light of ISO/TS 22003, IRCA is planning to update its criteria to reflect the requirements (skills and competencies) required for auditors within the food supply chain.

For more information on what IRCA’s food safety management system professional programme visit http://www.irca.org/certification/certification_7.html