Unsafe food has always been a human health problem, and many food safety problems encountered today are not new. Although no one standard can eradiate all the problems, ISO/TS 22003 will go a long way to building confidence in certification throughout the food supply chain.

The technical specification defines rules on, for example, auditor competencies and audit duration that CBs have to implement. If CBs seek accreditation, the accreditation bodies will assess them to determine if they have implemented these rules.

ISO/TS 22003:2013 defines the rules applicable for the audit and certification of a food safety management system (FSMS) complying with the requirements given in ISO 22000 (or other sets of specified FSMS requirements). It also provides the necessary information and confidence to customers about the way certification of their suppliers has been granted.

ISO/TS 22003 should be seen as an opportunity for CBs to align their work, whether they are certifying “products” or “management systems”. In the future, it will be critical for the food industry to find more cost-efficient certification solutions. The joint working group that developed ISO/TS 22003 acknowledges that scheme owners, accreditation bodies, certification bodies and food regulators need to sit together to discuss options.