This document specifies the requirements for the audit and certification of a food safety management system (FSMS) complying with the requirements given in ISO 22000 (or other specified FSMS requirements). It also provides the necessary information and confidence to customers about the way certification of their suppliers has been granted.

Certification of FSMS is a third-party conformity assessment activity (as described in ISO/IEC°17000:2020, 4.3), and bodies performing this activity are third-party conformity assessment bodies.

NOTE 1 In this document, the terms "product" and "service" are used separately (in contrast with the definition of "product" given in ISO/IEC 17000).

NOTE 2 This document can be used as a criteria document for the accreditation or peer assessment of certification bodies which seek to be recognized as being competent to certify that an FSMS complies with ISO 22000 or other sets of specified FSMS requirements. It is also intended to be used as a criteria document by regulatory authorities and industry consortia which engage in direct recognition of certification bodies to certify that an FSMS complies with ISO 22000. Some of its requirements can also be useful to other parties involved in the conformity assessment of such certification bodies, and in the conformity assessment of bodies that undertake to certify the compliance of FSMS with criteria additional to, or other than, those in ISO 22000.

FSMS certification does not attest to the safety or fitness of the products of an organization within the food chain. However, an FSMS requires an organization to meet all applicable food-safety-related statutory and regulatory requirements through its management system.

NOTE 3 Certification of an FSMS according to ISO 22000 is a management system certification, not a product certification.

Other FSMS users can use the concepts and requirements of this document provided that the requirements are adapted as necessary.