FSSC 22000

FSSC stands for Food Safety System Certification. The Foundation FSSC is an independent, not-for-profit organization based in the Netherlands. It was established to provide a globally recognized certification scheme that creates value and supports trust throughout the food supply chain, strengthening relationships between certified organizations and relevant stakeholders, including regulators, customers, suppliers, and other interested parties.

FSSC 22000 is a food safety management system certification scheme applicable to organizations operating across the food supply chain. FSSC 22000 is based on ISO 22000 for food safety management system requirements.

FSSC 22000 is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and is one of the internationally recognized food safety certification schemes used by organizations throughout the global food supply chain. FSSC 22000 is therefore commonly considered alongside other GFSI-recognized certification schemes, such as BRCGS, IFS, and SQF.

The latest version of FSSC at that time was Version 5, which was published in May 2019. The revision of FSSC 22000 was prompted by the update of the ISO 22000 standard in 2018 (ISO 22000:2018).

Scope of FSSC 22000
FSSC 22000 is intended for the audit and certification of organizations operating within defined food-chain categories and subcategories. The scope covers relevant activities across the food supply chain, including, depending on the applicable category:
– Farming and primary production
– Pre-process handling of plant products
– Food manufacturing and processing
– Animal feed production
– Catering
– Trading, retail, wholesale, and e-commerce
– Transport and storage services
– Production of food packaging and packaging materials
– Production of biochemicals