Food and beverage manufacturers must take steps above and beyond to ensure their products are safe for customers, much more so than other industries. That’s why the equipment they use during the manufacturing process must also be held to a higher standard. The following is an introduction to a recent article written by Deepak Vetal, Product Marketing Manager – U.S. Oil Free Division, Atlas Copco Compressors, that details the importance of ISO 22000 certification for compressed air and blower manufacturers who produce equipment for food and beverage customers.
ISO 22000 is a food and beverage (F&B) specific derivative of ISO 9001, a family of standards from the International Organization for Standardization that details the requirements of a quality management system. It is a quality certification that can be applied to any organization in the food chain — from packaging machine manufacturers to the actual food processing facilities. ISO 22000 Certification gives customers confidence in your facility. They can be sure the company they are buying from has the safety management measures in place to ensure the safety and quality of their product.
There are three primary safety hazards in F&B manufacturing that ISO 22000 addresses: biological, chemical and physical. The key components of the ISO 22000 certification seek to address those hazards by identifying and mitigating them. Earning ISO 22000 Certification involves the following:
Set up a documented food safety management system to manage the processes throughout the facility.
Establish prerequisite programs to ensure a sanitary environment.
Institute an HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) principal, which identifies, prevents and eliminates hazards.
