FSSC 22000 North America

The Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC 22000) is a systematic program to managing your organization's food safety responsibilities. FSSC 22000 is fully recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and is based on existing ISO Standards. 

FSSC 22000 uses ISO 22000 for the management system requirements and ISO Technical Standards or Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) for prerequisite program requirements. This standard integrates nicely with other management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

By achieving FSSC 22000 Certification, your company will benefit from:

• Satisfying the HACCP requirement of your retailer and food service customers
• Enhanced food safety and management systems
• Increased consumer confidence in your products
• Boost your brand and corporate image
• Expanded presence in the market to new and prospective clients

FSSC Certification and Scope

FSSC 22000 Certification features a 3 year cycle. This cycle consists of annual surveillance audits and a recertification audit every 3 years. The initial audit is performed in two stages. Surveillance and recertification audits all take a process based approach, instead of a checklist based audit.

This audit scope is suitable for manufacturers of the following:

• Perishable animal products (i.e. meat, poultry, eggs, dairy and fish products)
• Perishable vegetal products (i.e. fresh fruits and fresh juices, preserved fruits, fresh vegetables, preserved vegetables)
• Products with long shelf life at ambient temperature (i.e. canned products, biscuits, snacks, oil, drinking water, beverages, pasta, flour, sugar, salt)
• (Bio)chemical products for food manufacturing (i.e. vitamins additives and bio-cultures) but excluding technical and technological aids

Where are the requirements found?

All FSSC 22000 Scheme documents are available for download here. 

On March 31, 2023, the FSSC released Version 6 of their standard.

Some key dates to remember:

• Published March 31, 2023
• Audits to Version 6 begin April 1, 2024
• Must have upgrade audit to Version 6 by March 31, 2025

Contact Us to learn more about the FSSC 22000 Certification Process!