ISO 22000 Certification in Oman
ISO 22000 certification in Oman
ISO 22000 describes requirements for a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) and sets out what requirements an organization must meet to demonstrate that it can control food safety hazards.
Unsafe food can have severe health consequences, so it is crucial for organizations in the food supply chain to take steps to ensure their processes and products are safe. Today, many food products cross national borders, highlighting the need for a global standard for food safety management. ISO 22000 meets this need by providing guidelines organizations can follow to help identify and control hazards related to food safety.
Types Of ISO Certification In Oman
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What is ISO 22000 Certification in Oman?
The ISO 22000 is a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) which is outcome focused, providing requirements for any organization in the food industry in Oman with an objective to help improve the overall performance in food safety. This standard is intended to ensure safety in the global food supply chain. The standard involves the overall guidelines for food safety management and also focuses on traceability in the feed and food chain.
ISO 22000 certification in Oman describes requirements for a food safety management system and sets out what requirements an organization must meet to demonstrate it can control food safety hazards. It covers organizations across the whole food chain, from the farm to the table. It is designed to ensure fair competition and provide for communication within and between organizations along the food chain.
Communication along the food chain is essential to ensure that all relevant food safety hazards are identified and adequately controlled at each step within the food chain. This implies communication between organizations both upstream and downstream in the food chain. Communication with customers and suppliers about identified hazards and control measures will assist in clarifying customer and supplier requirements.
Recognition of the organization’s role and position within the food chain is essential to ensure effective interactive communication throughout the chain in order to deliver safe food products to the consumer.
The standard incorporates and complements the main elements of ISO 9001, the standard for quality management systems, as well as hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), a preventive approach to food safety.
The standard provides a framework for organizations to develop, implement, monitor and continually improve a food safety management system, within the context of their overall business risks. To comply with the standard, businesses must meet all applicable food safety-related statutory and regulatory requirements.
Organizations that want to create an FSMS that is more focused, coherent and integrated than what the law requires can benefit from ISO 22000 in Oman. It helps organizations with aspects of their operations such as food safety, hazard controls, their supply chain, HACCP, their business strategy and food traceability.
Although the primary concern regarding food safety is the presence of food safety hazards at the point of consumption, these hazards can occur at any point along the food chain. Because of this, it is crucial to have adequate controls in place throughout the food chain, and all the organizations involved must collaborate to ensure safety.
The primary elements of an FSMS, as described in ISO 22000 are:
- Interactive communication across the organization
- System management that includes documentation
- Prerequisite programs, which ensure a clean, sanitary environment
- HACCP principles, which help identify, prevent and remove food safety hazards
The standard also covers other principles, which are part of all ISO management system standards. These principles are:
- Customer focus
- Leadership
- Engagement of people
- Process approach
- Improvement
- Evidence-based decision making
- Relationship management
What are the prerequisites to apply for the ISO 22000 certification in Oman?
- Pest control
- Food defense
- Prevention of cross-contamination
- Equipment suitability, cleaning and maintenance
- Employee facilities and personal hygiene
- Management of purchased materials
- Cleaning and sanitizing procedures
- Product information
- Utilities (including energy, water and air)
- Warehousing
- Waste disposal
- Procedures for product recall
These are just some general prerequisites. There are also some other sector specific technical specifications for catering companies, retail food sector, food storage and transport services, animal feed manufacturers, food packaging services etc.
Benefits of ISO 22000 certification in Oman
ISO 22000 helps organizations in Oman minimize food risks and improve performance as it relates to food safety. It does so by providing a framework they can use to develop an FSMS, a systematic approach to addressing food safety issues.
Compliance with ISO 22000 provides benefits such as:
1. Improved health and safety
Minimizing food risks leads to better health and safety outcomes for customers, other users, employees and others who may come into contact with food.
2. Improved customer satisfaction
Having an FSMS helps you reliably deliver products that meet customer expectations.
3. Help meeting regulatory requirements
4. Help meeting other standards and guidelines
5. Enhanced transparency
6. Improved response to risks
7. Reduced investigation time
If contamination does occur, an FSMS helps organizations reduce the time it takes to investigate any food safety breaches, solving the problem faster.
The standard itself also offers several advantages over other systems:
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Consistent structure
The structure of ISO 22000 is similar to that of other international standards. It is designed to integrate seamlessly with other management systems from ISO, such as ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 14001. -
Global recognition
ISO 22000 is a well-known, internationally recognized standard. Certification to it improves an organization's reputability with customers, suppliers, investors, regulatory groups and other parties worldwide. -
3. Increased business opportunities:
Certification to an international standard such as ISO 22000 opens doors for new business opportunities. Some organizations require certification before they will supply or otherwise work with a company.
How to implement ISO 22000 certification in Oman?
Below are the steps of how to implement ISO 22000 certification:
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Step 1
Initial consultation – Our consultants evaluate your existing food safety procedures and help you in establishing a thorough strategy to put the ISO 22000 standard in place.
Step 2
Gap analysis – We assess your current operations against the requirements of ISO 22000 standard and identify the areas where some improvements or changes are necessary to fulfill the criteria.
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Step 3
Documentation and implementation – We assist in the preparation and implementation of the necessary documents, policies and procedures which are required as per the ISO 22000 standard. We then integrate these changes into your organization’s existing framework to achieve the food safety requirements as per the ISO 22000 standard.
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Step 4
Training and awareness – we help your employees understand why food safety is important and teach them what the ISO 22000 standard requires.
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Step 5
Internal audit – Our auditors perform an internal audit, which is similar to the final audit conducted by the third party to issue the certification. This helps to evaluate the implemented system’s efficiency and to identify any flaws in the process. This also gives an opportunity to correct those flaws and improve the process. It ensures your readiness for the external certification audits.
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Step 6
Management review – A meeting between the ISO consultants and the top-management of your organization. Wherein the top-management reviews the performance of the food safety management system, audits the results and ensures that the process remains appropriate and efficient in a continuous manner.
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Step 7
External certification audit – It shall be coordinated by us (the ISO consultants) through the accredited certification bodies. The self-governing auditors carry out this audit to confirm that your organization’s food safety management system is as per the ISO 22000 standards requirements.
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Step 8
Certification and surveillance – After the external certification audit is successful, we help you in obtaining the ISO certification. This certificate is usually valid for 3 years, provided that an annual surveillance is done to make sure that your management system conforms to the ISO 22000 standard requirements and is in the process of continuous development.
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Step 9
Continuous improvement – Our consultants shall advice you about the ways by which you can continuously improve your processes and conform to the norms of ISO 22000 standards at all times.
FAQ
ISO 22000 is a food safety standard for businesses in the global food chain which is used to specify the requirements for food safety management system where the organizations in the food chain need to exhibit their ability to control food safety hazards, in order to assure that food is secure at the time of human consumption. It is considered important in Oman as it ensures that people are consuming healthy food and also helps in upholding the organization’s reputation in the market.
ISO 22000 certification has the potential to benefit a wide array of businesses related to the food industry. Some of the organizations which can benefit from implementing ISO 22000 in Oman are as follows:
- Food manufacturing industry
- Food ingredients industry
- Food additives
- Food transportation
- Packing of food materials
- Selling of food (retail or wholesale)
- Serving prepared foods (Supermarkets or Hypermarkets)
- Production of food equipment
Visitors can be guided through ISO 22000, its importance, and the services your consultancy offers by structured content.
