Keybridge prepares ISO 22000 certification in Iraq and Kurdistan.

Manage food-safety hazards within an organised management system. We confirm the scope and the buyer’s stated requirements before preparation starts. Buyer acceptance depends on the certificate scope, issuing body and the requirements set by the buyer. We review those requirements before preparation.

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ISO 22000 Food safety management systems

ISO 22000 at a glance

Published: June 2018. ISO 22000:2018 is the current edition. It replaced the 2005 edition and the transition closed in 2021.
Structure: Annex SL high level structure. 10 clauses. Clauses 4 to 10 carry the auditable requirements, and clause 8 holds the prerequisite programmes and the HACCP work.
Certifiable: Yes. The company is certified for a named scope of sites, products and processes. There is no certificate for a food product under this standard.
Certificate validity: The assessment body confirms the applicable schedule and continuing requirements for your scope.
Surveillance: The assessment body confirms the applicable schedule and continuing requirements for your scope.
Audit days, 10 to 50 people: The assessment body confirms the applicable schedule and continuing requirements for your scope.
What the scope covers: Only the sites and activities written into the scope. Anything left out of it is not covered.
What the certificate says: The company name, the standard, the scope and the dates the certificate runs.
Language of the system: We write the documentation in the language the company works in: Arabic, Kurdish or English. Kitchen and production records stay in the language the staff read.

What ISO 22000 is

ISO 22000:2018 is the international standard for a food safety management system. It puts HACCP inside a management system, so prerequisite programmes, hazard analysis, critical control points, traceability and recall run under one set of controls with objectives, internal audits and a management review. It applies to any organisation in the food chain, from farming and production to catering, packaging and transport.

What the standard requires

Clauses 1 to 3 cover scope, normative references and terms. Clauses 4 to 10 are the requirements an auditor checks.
Clause 4, context. Name the parties that matter, fix the scope by site, product and process, and state where your part of the food chain starts and stops.
Clause 5, leadership. Management signs the food safety policy, appoints the food safety team leader, and gives that team the authority to hold or reject product.
Clause 6, planning. Record the food safety risks, set objectives with numbers and dates, and plan changes to the system before they are made.
Clause 7, support. Competence and health records for food handlers, calibration of thermometers and scales, and communication with suppliers, customers and the health authority.
Clause 8.2, prerequisite programmes. Building, water, cleaning and sanitation, pest control, personal hygiene, allergen control and waste, written against the ISO/TS 22002 part for your sector.
Clause 8.5, hazard analysis. Flow diagrams verified on the floor, hazards listed at every step, and each significant hazard assigned to a critical control point or an operational prerequisite programme with a limit and a monitoring record.
Clause 8.4 and 8.9, emergency and recall. A written recall procedure, and a mock recall that traces one batch forward to the customer and backward to the raw material inside the time you claim.
Clause 9, performance evaluation. Verification of the monitoring results, internal audits on a plan, the food safety team review of the system, and the management review.
Clause 10, improvement. Correction and corrective action for every deviation from a critical limit, and an update of the system after any change to product, process or building.

Who needs ISO 22000 in Iraq and Kurdistan

Camp catering contractorsISO 22000 may be relevant to the management of this activity. Confirm the applicable scope and any buyer requirement before seeking certification.

Food producers and exportersISO 22000 may be relevant to the management of this activity. Confirm the applicable scope and any buyer requirement before seeking certification.

Water bottling and beverage plantsSource protection, treatment records and cleaning verification are the first documents a distributor or a ministry inspector asks to see.

Cold chain and food logisticsA buyer checks the temperature record for the whole trip, and a broken chain with no record is treated as a rejected load.

Flour, grain and animal feed plantsFeed is inside the food chain, and the prerequisite programme for feed is written in ISO/TS 22002-6.

Food packaging manufacturersPackaging that touches food is audited against ISO/TS 22002-4, and food plants pass their own audit pressure down to the packaging supplier.

Hotels and large kitchensHotel groups in Erbil and Baghdad that cater for ministries and conferences are asked how allergens, chilling and leftovers are controlled.

The buyers that ask for ISO 22000

Buyer or list	What they ask for
Kurdistan and Basra operators	Review this buyer’s current supplier criteria for the products or services offered. Certificate scope, buyer acceptance and tender eligibility need to be checked separately.
Ministry of Natural Resources Approved Vendor List	Check the current registration instructions for your activity and category. Confirm whether this standard is requested and which issuing bodies are accepted.
KRG Approved Suppliers Center	Check the current registration instructions for your activity and category. Confirm whether this standard is requested and which issuing bodies are accepted.
UN agencies through UNGM	Check the individual procurement notice for the required certificate and scope. Registration on UNGM does not replace the tender’s qualification criteria.
Gulf supermarket chains and importers	Review this buyer’s current supplier criteria for the products or services offered. Certificate scope, buyer acceptance and tender eligibility need to be checked separately.
Saudi Food and Drug Authority	Review this buyer’s current supplier criteria for the products or services offered. Certificate scope, buyer acceptance and tender eligibility need to be checked separately.
Iraqi Ministry of Health and COSQC	Check the current registration instructions for your activity and category. Confirm whether this standard is requested and which issuing bodies are accepted.
EPC and facilities management contractors	Review the project’s supplier requirements and the work package you intend to deliver. A contractor may set requirements beyond the certificate itself.

What shapes your investment

Number of sites and kitchens, and whether the auditor has to travel to Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Baghdad or Basra.
Number of hazard studies in the scope, which is the biggest driver of how long the audit takes.
Headcount across all shifts, including seasonal and contract staff.
Whether the buyer accepts ISO 22000 alone or asks for a scheme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative, such as FSSC 22000.
Languages the documentation and the monitoring forms are written in.
How much of the prerequisite programme already exists, and what building work the site survey finds.
The date the documents are needed by.
Whether ISO 22000 is built alone or together with ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 as one system; the certification body determines the audit time.
Number of findings at the audit and how much evidence is needed to close them.

The proposal names the scope, the deliverables and the dates before work starts.

ISO 22000 questions we are asked

How long does certification take?

Preparation depends on your scope, existing records and any gaps to address. The assessment body controls its own schedule and decision.

What should we prepare before starting?

Tell us your activities, locations and any buyer requirement. We then identify the existing procedures and records needed for the initial review.

Will this meet our buyer’s requirements?

We review the buyer’s stated requirement against the scope and issuing body before proceeding. Acceptance of your supplier application remains the buyer’s decision.

What happens after certification is granted?

Keep the system and records current, address findings and follow the assessment body’s surveillance and renewal requirements. Any ongoing support is agreed separately.

Is ISO 22000 enough for every food buyer?

No. A buyer may specify a different food-safety scheme or additional requirements. We review the buyer’s request before you choose the certification route.

Is a HACCP plan the same as ISO 22000 certification?

No. A HACCP plan addresses food-safety hazards; ISO 22000 places hazard controls within a wider food-safety management system assessed for certification.

Prepare for ISO 22000 certification.

Tell us about your organization’s activities, the sites involved and any buyer requirements. We will review your current position and identify the work needed to prepare.

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