Thinking about getting ISO 22000 certified? Smart move. ISO 22000:2018 is the international standard for Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), helping businesses ensure product safety, meet regulatory requirements, and access larger (and more lucrative!) contracts. If you're wondering where to start, this beginner-friendly guide gives you a simple...

We have all seen them, pinned to noticeboards inside the company handbooks and, if you're lucky, as part of a presentation at your induction.  Unfortunately, by and large that is the limit most employees have in terms of the involvement with the Occupational Health & Safety Policy which is bizarre as it is the fundamental document of your ...

Most businesses these days have a crisis management plan or business continuity plan, because it's good business or perhaps the insurance company said so! They are there to ensure your team understand what to do in an emergency, how it's going to affect the business, who to contact and what plans you have in place to minimise the impact. But does y...

Almost every organisation you encounter will talk about leadership, how important it is to them and how they lead from the top. Sometimes, when you push a little and peel back the layers a bit, leadership and the commitment to having great leadership is perhaps not as ingrained in the company as they would have you believe. That's what clause 5.1 i...

On the fence about implementing ISO22000 for Food Safety? Let's be honest, no one dreams of running a food business or becoming a supplier in the food industry that ends up in the headlines for all the wrong reasons (think, food recalls and food poisoning scandals). It doesn't matter if you're whipping up gourmet snacks, bottling sauces, or process...

ISO45001:2018 Clause 4.3 is all about the scope of your Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSMS), so which parts of your organisation will be included within your system. Think about it a bit like drawing a box and putting all the parts of your organisation into it that you want to include - there may well be some parts you want t...

Food fraud is a real problem for us all, both manufacturers and consumers. Swapping out raw materials for cheaper alternatives or just out and out contaminating them is a serious issue and businesses need to take steps to counter any of this, so where do you start? Risk Assessments! Carrying out a VACCP/TACCP risk assessment is definitely best prac...

Understanding and documenting business risks is something that many just fail to do. They view them as a thing "only big businesses do" or a "corporate thing" but that's not the case. Managing business risks is an important step for any business, no matter how big or small, to consider all the risks to them keeping the doors open. This is a re...

I'm going to open with a bit of an inflammatory statement and hope you don't close the page, are you ready…  You are doing risk management wrong, and your business is suffering because of it. For that matter, I bet your whole ISO document structure is wrong! Now, while you calm down a bit here's a question, if I asked you how your risk managem...

Clause 4.2 – Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties - is an important one and sets up your system information going forward. The details of your interested parties can drive everything from improvement to guiding management of change. While Clause 4.1 Understanding the organisation and its context is technically first, 4.2 g...

 ISO 45001:2018 Clause 4.4 is an interesting one, it's classed as a 'general clause' as it's pretty all encompassing, it says: The organisation shall establish, implement, maintain and continually improve an OH&S management system, including the processes needed and their interactions, in accordance with the requirements of this document I...

Climate change is a hot topic everywhere these days, and ISO is no exception. Its Climate Action Amendment has been added as a requirement in all management standards, regarding both risk assessment and stakeholder needs. This means it affects 9001, 14001, 45001, 27001, 22000 and 50001. Or in plain English, the standards for Quality, Environmental,...

Food fraud has been around a long time and is generally considered as "intentionally causing a mismatch between product claims and product characteristics" (everyone has their own definition!). For FSSC certification, Clause 2.5.4 calls for a Food Fraud Mitigation assessment and plan on how to minimize the risks, for very valid reasons. Sellers try...

We've posted previously about the frustration of badly managed change in a business, but what makes a truly useful change management system? Small teams can manage change reasonably simply, but once you start growing into multiple departments with multiple staff, it can be very hard to always get those needed in a room together to hash out every ch...

We've all been told that checklists are the answer!... tick this and your quality will be great, but have you checked in with your team? Are they sick of ticking boxes? Are you really sure your quality checks achieve what you need them to? Maybe it's time to reinvent your quality control system and fix up your check process to make it mor...

There are many myths in the world, ranging from Bigfoot to bumblebee's defying the laws of physics (they don't) and of course the Loch Ness Monster (who is just shy and wants to be left alone). It seems that myths are still very real in the world of work as well. Work-life balance is impossible, remote working is inefficient, workplace conflict can...

Ever wondered how you as food manufacturers or food retailers can ensure that every product you produce or sell is not only tasty, but also safe to eat? One of the key areas is supplier management. Let's have a nosy into what goes on to guarantee food safety for the consumer. 1. Choose Your Suppliers Wisely: It all starts with selecting suppliers y...

If you have read our blog for a while you will know that we hold the annual employee review with great distain, for many reasons it's in effective and does neither side of the equation any real benefit. When it comes time to sit down with the boss to do an employee review session what invariably happens is that, as an employee, you quickly dig out ...