Many people have heard of the ISO 22000, but a lot of them wonder who it is that should use it. Using the ISO 22000 is going to benefit anyone or anything that has to do with food. It doesn’t matter whether the organization or business has 50 or 500 employees; any business that deals with food will be helped by the ISO 22000.

Although a lot of people think of the animal kingdom when talking about the food chain, it’s also referring to the different stages in making and eating food. This terms encompasses each step, from it being made until it gets eaten. To be more precise, it includes things like production, the processing, the distribution, the storage, and the handling of every piece of food or ingredient.

The food chain which is referred to in ISO 22000 also is involving organizations that aren’t directly handling food. Organizations like these are the ones that make food for animals such as chickens, which produce different kinds of food, and pigs, who may become food themselves. It’s also including businesses that make materials that are going to come into ingredients for food or food itself.

There are quite a few organizations that are able to make use of ISO 22000.

Primary producers: ranches, fisheries, farms, and dairies
Processors: fish processors, feed processors, meat processors, and poultry processors
Manufacturers: soup manufacturer, snack manufacturer, bread manufacturer, canned food manufacturer, cereal manufacturer, seasoning manufacturer, canned good manufacturer, frozen food manufacturer, dressing manufacturer, beverage manufacturer,
Providers of food services: grocery stores, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals, hotels, resorts, airlines, cruise ships, seniors lodges, nursing homes,
Other providers of services: catering service, transportation service, sanitation service, distribution service, storage service, cleaning service,
Suppliers of Products: utensils, tools, equipment, raw materials, agents for sanitizing, and materials for packaging,

It should be remembered that this list is not all encompassing when it comes to who can benefit from ISO 22000. There are other organizations who are not on the list and are going to be able to make use of it. The ISO 22000 is going to benefit companies and organizations that are dealing with food.

Making use of the ISO 22000 has a few advantages.

It lets the businesses that are a part of the well known food chain to prove their food safety commitment.

Better communication externally and internally.

Proven control over food hazards that are known.

The FSMS of the organization is improving all the time.

Having the ability to use the internationally known certification of NSF.

It’s easy to see why so many organizations use the ISO 22000. It offers an organization a lot of useful tools. A lot of organizations attribute their success to using the ISO 22000. It’s a tool that is very useful.