FSSC 22000

Run by The Foundation of Food Safety Certification, FSSC 22000 is essentially a combination of ISO 22000: 2005 and PAS 220: 2008 and is the first global food safety standard specifically geared towards the food production industry.

Why was FSSC Developed?

ISO 22000 was reviewed by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) when it was published but was not added to the list of accepted standards, as it did not appear to meet the prerequisite programs for food manufacturers to cover food safety issues. This has led to the design of PAS 220: 2008, a standard that covers the requirements of food manufacturers and processors and can be used with ISO 22000. The second requirement of the GFSI program was to have a defined owner of the standard. This program is run by the Foundation for Food Safety Certification (FSSC), which is responsible for managing accreditation and certification processes and maintaining recognition by the GFSI program.

FSSC 22000 Features and Contents

FSSC 22000 requirements include the following main topics:

  • Food safety system requirements of food manufacturers,
  • Requirements for certification companies,
  • FSSC 22000 accreditation rules
  • Rules for stakeholders

It is aimed to apply all ISO 22000 and PAS 220 standard requirements of food manufacturers and in addition to these, some topics are further emphasized:

  • Compliance with legal regulations and follow-up,
  • Fulfillment of customer requirements
  • Providing efficient personnel management.

PAS 220 (ISO 22002-1) content and topics:

This guide details the 10 sub-headings of 7.2.3 in the ISO 22000 Food Safety standard, as well as the last five articles:

  • Structure and placement of buildings
  • The placement of the workspace, the building, and its extensions
  • Auxiliary facilities-air, water, energy
  • Support services such as waste and sewerage
  • Equipment suitability, cleaning, preventive maintenance
  • Management of purchased materials,
  • Measures to prevent cross-contamination
  • Cleaning and sanitation
  • Pest control
  • Personnel hygiene and employee facilities
  • Rework
  • Product recall procedures
  • Storage
  • Product - consumer information
  • Food defense, biodefense and bioterrorism

FSSC 22000 Certification Process:

The path to be followed by businesses planning to go through the FSSC 22000 certification process can be listed as follows.

  • ISO 22000 & PAS 220 (ISO 22002-1) implementation
  • Understanding and implementation of the FSSC 22000 food safety management system
  • Conducting internal audit and closing nonconformities
  • Selection of a certification body approved by the Board and auditing within the correct scope (signed contract)
  • Minor and Major nonconformities and corrective actions
  • Approval of Report and Document (with FSSC logo)


The validity of the FSSC 22000 certificate is 3 years as in other quality management systems from ISO. In addition, annual follow-up audits are planned and a document renewal is made every 3 years.

Businesses with ISO 22000 certificate will be able to receive FSSC 22000 certificate after being evaluated according to PAS 220 (with half or one day audit depending on the size of the enterprise).

fssc 22000