By Mike Richman
Subtitled “A Hands-On Diagram Approach to Food Safety Management Systems,” this new e-book from Auditor Online contributor Nuno F. Soares offers a deep and technically thorough look at food safety and how it is validated through the language of standards.
Designed for users of these standards as well as those who must audit against them, FSSC 22000 V5 and ISO 22000:2018 Blueprint covers the history of the schemes and offers an assessment of the language found in the current versions. The clause-by-clause analysis, from a high-level practitioner in this space with a clear-eyed and experienced view of the food industry, allows the book to well earn its claim as a “blueprint.”
Filled with detailed charts and graphics, this work is rather visual in nature and flows nicely. There are also a handful of interviews, including an in-depth chat with Cornelie Glerum and Aldin Hilbrands, the managing director and technical director, respectively, of the FSSC 22000 scheme. Among other topics, Glerum and Hilbrands shed light on the development of the standard from 2009 until now, their expectations for future developments, the rationale behind some of the changes in the language of version 5 of FSSC 22000, auditing tactics, and auditor development. Also included is a discussion with Dimitris Katsieris, technical and business development manager at BQC, a Greek-accredited certification and training body, regarding the changes in ISO 22000:2018 to accommodate concepts like risk and the context of the organization.
The book closes with a particularly useful piece of information, a chart that cross-references, side-by-side, the clause structure of ISO 22000:2005 against that of ISO 22000:2018.
Overall, this is a solid addition to industry thought leadership as it relates to food safety management system standards. Superior performance within this space demands the kind of rigorous attention to detail that can only come from adherence to an organizational quality program as embodied in FSSC 22000 and/or ISO 22000. Getting that kind of value requires a deep understanding of not only how the language of the standards have evolved, but why. A resource such as this e-book is a good way to achieve just this kind of understanding.
More information on FSSC 22000 V5 and ISO 22000:2018 Blueprint is available online here. Note that those who order the book quickly will have the opportunity to attend a free online training offered by the author on March 5.
About the author
Mike Richman is the principal of Richman Business Media Consulting, a marketing and public relations company working with clients in the worlds of manufacturing, consumer products, politics, and education. Richman also hosts the web television program NorCal News Now, which focuses on social, economic, and political issues in California. He is a contributor to (and former publisher of) Quality Digest.