Good progresses towards harmonisation within ISO 22003 parts 1 & 2

3 zoom sessions have been dedicated between March and May 2021 to the first in depth work on the future ISO 22003-2 that will bring ISO 17065 accredited food safety schemes at a harmonised requirement level with ISO 17021-1 + 22003-1 schemes.

30+ experts among which representative of 10 major schemes, GFSI, industries, certification and accreditation bodies, and Didier Blanc, ViaSyst Director, worked together on reaching consensus over 800+ received comments.

Here a short summary of the major outcomes and features of the reached consensus:

-         Annexes A (categories), B (audit duration) and C (competence) will be mandatory and aligned in both 22003 part 1 & 2,

-         Scheme owners may use their own categories or rules, provided they meet the minimal basic level stated in these annexes,

-         “Audit” will be kept as a generic term, whereby, to align with the 17065 terminology, the definition will state that audit includes any applicable “Evaluation” activity (e.g. inspection, sampling & testing, …).

At the end of the meeting, all experts were comfortable with the option to go for a parallel DIS (Draft International Standard) with the new draft version. DIS means a broadened consultation and call for comments, within all ISO members.

The collated comments will be dealt with by the next meeting, around the end of the year.

Want more first-hand insider details on the outcome? Apply to our upcoming webinar!

Dr Didier Blanc, ViaSyst Director