The main difference between ISO 22000 and HACCP is that ISO 22000 focuses and analyzes all the risks and structure from a business perspective to identify all the food safety procedures that a company should take.
On the other hand, HACCP only and only focuses on food safety matters.
What is HACCP?
HACCP, or Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point to give it its full name, is a food safety management system first developed in the 1960s by scientists for NASA when they wanted to produce food with zero defects for astronauts. And in the last thirty years HACCP has been used by food industries to help control and prevent risks associated with hazards which can cause food to be unsafe.
Whilst HACCP is used in a number of different industries, the system is always relevant to any business involved in the food chain including anything from a small cafe or home kitchen to much larger food manufacturing plants. HACCP’s system is now accepted and used worldwide and has become a key legislative requirement for food industries in countries across multiple continents.
Introduction To ISO 22000
Around 20 years ago numerous standards had been developed in multiple privatised and national organisations around the globe and the world of food safety had become a convoluted one. This meant different companies started using their own in-house codes when auditing their suppliers, and because they all had different criteria for their audits it made it really difficult for suppliers to meet requirements globally.
With the confusion the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) set about creating an auditable standard for Food Safety Management System (FSMS) and they came up with ISO 22000. It was quickly adopted by organisations around the world and provided defined requirements that applied to food producers, manufacturers and any business involved in the food supply chain.
Companies that produce primary products and retailers along with suppliers in the packaging or food processing industries, among others, are covered by ISO 22000. The standard is an internationally recognized standard that is used as the basis for a valid global ISO certificate on food safety, and it is relevant to the entire food processing unit or food chain.
The HACCP plan is a comprehensive note of potential risks that can occur in the future along with the risk management measures that should be taken in association with food and drink products handled by a company in the food industry. For the past thirty years, the food-centered industry has used the guidelines given by HACCP to help control and prevent and reduce different risks which are associated with hazards that can lead to unhygienic or poisonous food.
| Parameters of Comparison | ISO 22000 | HACCP |
| Full form | International Organization for Standardization 22000 | Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points |
| Application | The organization in food units and food chains. | Organization To prevent biochemical hazards in food items. |
So what’s the difference?
Firstly, HACCP is a food safety management system that businesses can use whilst ISO 22000 is a food safety management standard businesses need to meet.
In addition, more differences are listed below:
- ISO 22000 enables a food safety management system to be developed by external experts for businesses and this includes implementing and verifying all activities involved in the system.
- ISO 22000 requires risk analysis to evaluate all food safety standards identified.
- HACCP utilises the traditional idea of control measures falling into two groups; prerequisites and measures applied at critical control points. For ISO 22000, these ideas were reorganised by adding a group of control measures named operational prerequisite programmes.
- ISO 22000 requires there to be a monitoring system and planned corrective actions.
- ISO 22000 requires outcomes to be analysed and improved after monitoring HACCP plans.
- Whilst allergen control is required in ISO 22000 it isn’t mentioned or needed in HACCP.
- With ISO 22000 there has to be continual improvement and the management system needs to be kept up-to-date.
What is ISO 22000?
The ISO 22000 food safety standard has been in existence since 2005 and is based on the HACCP guidelines implemented by the guidelines of ISO 9001. It is an internationally recognized standard that serves as the basis for a globally recognized ISO food safety certificate and is intended for the entire supply chain of products in the food sector.
The standard applies to primary production companies, retailers, and companies providing products and services to the packaging and detergent industries, among others. Companies that produce primary products and retailers along with suppliers in the packaging or food processing industries, among others, are covered by the guidelines of ISO 22000.
ISO 22000 is an internationally recognized standard that is used as the basis for a valid global ISO certificate on food safety, and it is relevant to the entire food processing unit or food chain.
A tumultuous world of food safety existed around 20 years ago when numerous standards were developed in multiple companies or organizations around the world.
Different types of companies developed different types of codes when auditing their suppliers, and since all of them used different auditing criteria, it was very difficult for suppliers to meet global requirements.
Because of the confusion, the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) decided to create an auditable standard for Food Safety Management Systems and came up with ISO 22000. In addition to setting defined requirements for all businesses involved in the food supply chain, it was quickly adopted by organizations around the world.
What is HACCP?
HACCP refers to a management system that analyzes and controls all the biochemical, and physical risks that can happen throughout the food production plant and supply chain along with the manufacturing and distribution affairs. The HACCP plan is a comprehensive note of potential risks that can occur in the future along with the risk management measures that should be taken in association with food and drink products handled by a company in the food industry.
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, or HACCP for short, is a food safety management system created by the scientists working in NASA in the 1960s to produce food with zero problems for astronauts.
For the past thirty years, the food-centered industry has used the guidelines given by HACCP to help control and prevent and reduce different risks which are associated with hazards that can lead to unhygienic or poisonous food. Even though HACCP is used in various industries, the system is always relevant to every business in the food chain, from a small roadside cafe to a large food manufacturing plant.
It has become a key legislative requirement for food industries on multiple continents and is now accepted and used worldwide. The HACCP plan must contain all possible risks and their associated risk management measures.
Main Differences Between ISO 22000 and HACCP
- ISO 22000 looks at the business structure of the company whereas HACCP looks mainly at the food safety protocols.
- ISO 22000 analyses all the possible risks whereas HACCP analyses what protocol should one take.
- ISO 22000 is focused on the quality of food processing whereas HACCP focusses mainly on the quality of food that is being produced
- ISO 22000 is all about food standardization whereas HACCP is all about the food making processes
- ISO 22000 is more about the business perspective whereas HACCP is about food safety.
HACCP/HARPC is a scientific, evidence-based methodology developed by NASA and Pillsbury back in 1960 . Later on, it was adopted and enforced by both the FDA and USDA for their respective inspection arenas, and became an essential program for industrial processors and manufacturers to have deployed in their food safety management systems.
Today, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) is deployed in conjunction with HARPC (Hazard Analysis Risk-Based Preventative Controls) as prescribed by the FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) rollout and enforcement.
Although it is a crucial core program to any modern food safety and quality management system, it should be clarified that it is only a modular portion or segment of the system, and — in respect to modern industrial manufacturing/processing sectors — is amalgamated with a multitudinous variety of interrelated programs in order to form a cohesive and robust management system.
And how is the system as a whole evaluated for its efficacy?
There are modules that specifically address this from an internal standpoint, but in terms of an impartial determination, the industry utilized third party auditing services to certify the establishments (among other services provided).
These third party auditing organizations are themselves held accountable under a check-and-balanced system by other governing bodies in order to grant the necessary accreditations that legitimize the certifications they grant to their auditees.
In terms of what the audits entail, there are numerous standards — otherwise known as “schemes” — each with their own differences, but having overlap on the essentialities in the perspective of food safety. These schemes themselves are benchmarked against the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) — which you can think of as a “standard for the standards” — to ensure the currency and continuing adequacy of each individual scheme, faced with the near constant shifts in industry focuses and paradigms as new avenues of threats are discovered and addressed.
And finally now, back to the original question: what is ISO 22000?
ISO 22000 is an international standard for food safety. However, when applied to the context described in the previous paragraph, ISO 22000 has a more specific counterpart known as the FSSC 22000, which can be thought of as a fork of its ISO progenitor that has been adapted to specifically meet the requirements of the GFSI benchmark, and gained specificity in its usage for the certification of food facilities and processes.
Therefore, it can be thought of as being interchangeable with similar auditing schemes (e.g., SQF, BRC, GlobalGAP, etc.); perhaps with exception of varying industry sectors, for the most part each of these schemes will necessitate the inclusion of a HACCP/HARPC plan in order to meet the certification requirements they each impose.
Conclusion
As a result, it can be said that obtaining a certification given by HACCP is a legal requirement for assuring consumer food product safety. Food produced should be free of any biochemical hazards etc. For the past thirty years, the food-centered industry has used the guidelines given by HACCP to help control and prevent and reduce different risks which are associated with hazards that can lead to unhygienic or poisonous food.
Having ISO 22000 certification is not mandatory, but it is a globally recognized standard that lends a lot of status and reliability to the organization. ISO 22000 is based on the HACCP guidelines.