In any FSSC 22000 food safety management system manual, there is one thing that tells the auditor before anything else even begins: whether or not the facility actually knows what their food safety management system is, or just collects paper. The certification body examines the manual first because it is the map for the whole food safety management system – its scope, organization, roles, and implementation of all the clauses of the standard. A manual that is based on a template, vague in regards to roles, and does not correspond to the work in the plant at all, is one of the quickest ways to receive major non-conformities.
The purpose of this guide is to help the Indian manufacturers and exporters to write FSSC 22000 food safety management system manual properly.
The manual is also one of the first documents to be submitted for the stage 1 documentation review for almost all Indian food companies going for certification. The manual is used by the certification body as the basis for determining whether the site is actually ready for proceeding to stage 2 or not. If there are deficiencies such as lack of enough information, lack of consistency between the scope of the site and the manual, and lack of procedure links, the auditor will note them as readiness issues before even inspecting a single production line.
What Is an FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System Manual
The food safety management system manual according to the FSSC 22000 standard is the highest level document detailing how the food safety management system at a particular facility is structured and how it complies with the ISO 22000 standard, specific sector PRPs (ISO/TS 22002 series) and the FSSC 22000 additional requirements. The manual is not equivalent to a procedure or a work instruction; rather it stands above these documents to explain their relationships.
It can be thought of as both the index and the story: what the system encompasses, who is responsible for each piece and where the procedures supporting each clause can be found.
This document is different from a HACCP plan or SOP since it does not attempt to describe the steps to be taken for each process but gives an explanation of why the system is designed in that way. The manual provides an auditor, a new employee or customer auditor a quick way to comprehend the site’s approach towards food safety without going through each procedure. Indian sites upgrading from FSSAI or ISO 22000 alone to FSSC 22000 underestimate the extent of the revision needed in this document since food fraud, food defense and quality culture are not easily incorporated in a mere ISO 22000 food safety manual.
Why Your FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System Manual Matters for Certification
The manual serves as a guide for auditors in both stages 1 and 2. An inaccuracy, obsolescence, or non-conformity to the activities carried out in the organization creates uncertainty concerning the management system despite the accuracy of individual documents.
- This describes the scope of the certification, which will be the limit of the legal permission of what the auditor can audit.
- This is a sign of top management commitment and food safety policies, which are mandatory according to ISO 22000 clause 5.
- This relates documentation requirements to procedures, and therefore makes it easy to trace back when auditing.
- This saves time for the auditor since he/she does not have to guess how departments work together.
- This becomes the reference document for internal audits, management reviews, and new employee training.
There is also a commercial benefit of doing so. Customers from export countries such as EU, US, and the Gulf Region have begun to demand to view the food safety manual as part of the supplier qualification process before verifying certificates. An organized food safety management system manual according to FSSC 22000 indicates organizational maturity.
FSSC 22000 Documentation Requirements You Must Cover
Before getting down to writing the document, it is always useful to clarify what kinds of documentation procedures the manual will cover, either directly or indirectly. The following table highlights these fundamental areas.
Core Structure of an FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System Manual
A typical structure for a food safety manual template will be as follows. Sites may vary the sequence of sections, but all of the following should be included and easily identifiable by auditors.
- Cover page information (version, approval, change history)
- Organisation profile and FSMS Scope
- FSMS Policy and Objectives signed by top Management
- Organisation structure and assignment of responsibilities
- Flowchart depicting process interface between different departments in the FSMS
- References relating each clause to relevant procedures, PRPs and record keeping
- Additional requirements for FSSC 22000 (food defence, food fraud, allergens management)
- Glossary and abbreviations used in the FSMS
- Document control and Record retention
It does not mean that everything should be long. It can be helpful for an auditor to have one well-structured page about process interactions than having five pages with descriptive narratives. The most important thing here is that all components should be there, current, and verifiable.
How to Write an FSSC 22000 Food Safety Management System Manual: Step-by-Step
Writing an FSSC 22000 food safety management system manual is easiest when it’s built in a logical sequence rather than written top to bottom in one sitting. Follow these steps.
Step 1: Define the Scope First
Start your audit report with the actual scope statement, detailing what kind of products, processes, and location have been covered during the audit. This is because any inconsistency in the scope is one of the common findings during an audit. In case the location deals with more than one kind of product or the same facility operates with un-certified operations, mention that explicitly.
Step 2: Map Your Processes
State all the processes starting from receiving raw materials to dispatch and indicate which processes, PRP’s, and records are associated with them. This forms the very foundation of your documentation requirements section. Even an interaction map drawn by hand followed by a more formal diagram is often understood much more quickly than textual explanations, and auditors always appreciate it.
Step 3: Assign Ownership
Each clause and process should have an individual owner, not merely a job title. The auditors often talk to process owners, hence the manual and actual should always tally. If there are any gaps in the manual that have occurred because of vacancy or change in roles, then it should be updated right away without waiting until the next audit cycle comes.
Step 4: Write in Plain, Verifiable Language
Do not make such general statements as “The company provides food safety.” Instead, make such statements which are verifiable with reference to the procedure or document.
Step 5: Cross-Reference, Don’t Duplicate
The manual must refer to procedures and PRPs and not repeat their contents. Duplication leads to version control issues and is a common cause of non-conformances when documentation becomes out-of-date. A simple reference table consisting of clause numbers, procedure names, and document codes helps keep track of such things easily despite any revisions made to the procedures separately from the manual.
Step 6: Review Against ISO 22000 Clause by Clause
After completion, review each clause in the manual relative to the ISO 22000 and make sure that nothing is left out. It is also at this time that the food safety manual template should be incorporated in a consistent manner throughout the manual to maintain format and terminology consistency.
Step 7: Pilot It Internally Before the Audit
The manual may be referenced when carrying out an internal audit or a mock audit. In case the internal auditors get themselves lost while analyzing the manual, the external auditors will get themselves lost as well since that is the true essence of preparing for the FSSC 22000 audit. Highlight areas in which the internal audit team got lost and revise them.
Common Mistakes That Cause Manuals to Fail Audit
Even experienced quality teams repeat a handful of predictable errors when drafting or revising their FSSC 22000 food safety management system manual. Watching for these during your own review can prevent avoidable nonconformities.
- Copying and pasting templates that were not tailored to the processes on-site
- Including outdated organisation charts or policies not signed off
- Not including any reference to the FSSC 22000 supplementary requirements, for instance food fraud vulnerability assessment
- No relation made between the manual sections and the numbering format that is used in practice
- Taking the manual as a static document instead of an evolving one that gets updated after every management review
- Too broad of a scope statement and not being able to show control over the entire scope
- No revision history, making it impossible for the auditor to verify if the manual is up-to-date
The majority of these problems arise not due to a lack of knowledge on the part of the team but rather from the fact that the manual is drafted only once when getting certified for the first time and seldomly updated afterwards. The preparation of a small internal checklist, which is to be checked at each management review meeting, will be sufficient.
After these procedures have been carried out, the manual will cease to be just a piece of paperwork for certification and will become a useful document that can help new employees get an insight into the system and also will be ready for customer scrutiny as well as for your next surveillance audit.
Key Takeaways
- FSSC 22000 food safety management system manual is the most important manual that is referred to by auditors during their audits and hence accuracy is far much more important than any form of length.
- The requirement for documentation should not be duplication of procedure but rather cross-referencing.
- The generic food safety management system manual is only going to work when it has been customized to fit the organization.
- Real auditing process entails piloting the manual before it even reaches the certification body.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you write an FSSC 22000 manual that passes an audit?
Use your existing processes, assign ownership, and make references rather than duplicate procedures.
What should be included in an FSSC 22000 food safety management system manual?
Scope, policy, roles, process interaction, documentation needs, and the FSSC 22000 extra requirements, including food defense.
What are the FSSC 22000 manual requirements for successful certification audit?
Your manual needs to correspond to the relevant clauses of ISO 22000, describe the current practice of your site and be up-to-date with the most recent version.
Can I use a generic food safety manual template for FSSC 22000?
Only as a skeleton – you will have to tailor it to your scope, processes, and names of responsible persons.
How long should an FSSC 22000 food safety management system manual be?
Most successful manuals have 15-30 pages. What’s more important than length is clarity and accuracy of references to other sections.
How often should the manual be reviewed or updated?
At each management review and at once after major changes in processes/scope/organisation.
Does the manual need to mirror ISO 22000 clause numbering exactly?
No, but it needs to have a way to link all clauses.
