From farm to table,
the promise of safe food
HACCP alone can block your path to export.
Beyond HACCP to a global food safety standard — verified as if our own family were eating it.
What is ISO 22000
ISO 22000 is the international standard for a Food Safety Management System (FSMS). It fully incorporates the 7 principles of HACCP — the on-site hygiene management technique — and adds the ISO management system (leadership, planning, operation, improvement) on top. It proves on a single page that every organization in the food chain — farming, manufacturing, processing, distribution, logistics, and packaging — is managing hazards systematically.
HACCP principles built in (12 steps)
PRP · OPRP · CCP hazard defense line
Applies across the entire food chain
Why you need it now
A single foreign object or one case of food poisoning can pull a product from the shelf and shake a brand. Consumers are more sensitive to food safety than ever, and the bar for distribution and export keeps rising. ISO 22000 is the answer to three pressures.
- Export Buyers in the US, Europe, Japan, and the Middle East require ISO 22000 or FSSC 22000 — beyond HACCP — as a supply condition.
- Distribution Food safety system certification has become a baseline condition in supply audits for large marts, convenience stores, and catering companies.
- Trust Proving safety through a system gives you evidence that you fulfilled your management responsibility even when an incident occurs.
HACCP · ISO 22000 · FSSC 22000 — What's the Difference
When you start researching food safety certification, HACCP, ISO 22000, and FSSC 22000 appear together. The three are not competitors but a ladder you climb step by step. Start with HACCP as the base; add a management system and you get ISO 22000; add global distribution requirements and it becomes FSSC 22000.
| Category | HACCP | ISO 22000 | FSSC 22000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Hygiene management technique | International management system standard | GFSI-recognized certification |
| Scope | On-site hazard management | HACCP + management system | ISO 22000 + sector PRP + additional requirements |
| Domestic obligation | Legal obligation for designated products (MFDS) | Voluntary (export / distribution requirement) | Voluntary (global distribution requirement) |
| Strength | Meets domestic baseline hygiene | International recognition · systematized management | Supply to global large-scale retail |
※ FSSC 22000 is a certification that adds ISO/TS 22002 (sector-specific prerequisite programs) and additional requirements to ISO 22000, and is recognized by GFSI (the Global Food Safety Initiative). Build ISO 22000 first and stepping up to FSSC 22000 becomes much easier.
Why Step Beyond HACCP to ISO 22000
HACCP is a powerful technique for catching on-site hazards, but it does not address "how the entire company takes responsibility for food safety and improves it." The moment your business moves beyond domestic borders and overseas, buyers ask not about the technique but about the management system.
- Failing to meet the supply requirements of overseas buyers and large retailers
- Management accountability and improvement activities not captured as a system
- Difficulty managing supply chain (raw materials, logistics) risks systematically
- Clearing the bar for export and global trade with an internationally recognized standard
- Food safety accountability linked into one system, from top management to the floor
- Securing a stepping stone to expand into FSSC 22000
You don't throw away your existing HACCP. If you already operate HACCP, you build on those documents and records and simply add the management system elements of ISO 22000. It's not about starting over from scratch but about stepping up using what you have — which is why the consulting that pinpoints what to fill in and what to connect is what decides the timeline.
Key Requirements of ISO 22000
ISO 22000 stands on four core elements. At their center is the three-layer line of defense (PRP · OPRP · CCP) that blocks hazards.
① The Four Core Elements
Interactive Communication
Sharing information across the entire food chain, from suppliers to customers
System Management
Operating the management system of leadership, planning, operation, and improvement
Prerequisite Programs (PRP)
A safe baseline environment — cleaning, pest control, personal hygiene
HACCP Principles
Hazard analysis and management of critical control points
② The Three-Layer Hazard Defense Line
PRP Prerequisite Programs
Baseline controls that underpin a safe environment — cleaning and sanitizing, pest and rodent control, personal hygiene, facility management. They don't directly catch a specific hazard, but they are the foundation of everything.
OPRP Operational Prerequisite Programs
Operational controls that reduce specific hazards. They aren't managed by an absolute critical limit, but they are continuously controlled during the process so hazards don't grow.
CCP Critical Control Point
Decisive control points where a critical limit must never be exceeded — such as heating temperature or metal detection. Cross the line and corrective action must kick in immediately.
③ The 7 HACCP Principles (Built into the 12 Steps)
Hazard Analysis
Identify biological, chemical, and physical hazards
Determine Critical Control Points (CCP)
Select the process steps to be controlled decisively
Set Critical Limits
Limits that must not be exceeded, such as temperature and time
Monitoring System
Continuously measure and observe compliance with the limits
Corrective Actions
Immediate correction and recurrence prevention when limits are breached
Verification Procedures
Confirm the system is working as intended
Documentation & Record Keeping
Keep every management activity as evidence to ensure traceability
Certification Process
Establish Prerequisites
Set up the PRP (prerequisite programs) and conduct on-site hygiene checks
Hazard Analysis
Determine CCPs and OPRPs using the 7 HACCP principles
Build the System
Write and operate the food safety manual and procedures
Certification Audit
Stage 1 document review and Stage 2 on-site hygiene and operation audit
Certification & Surveillance
Certificate issued (3 years), maintained through an annual surveillance audit
Why the Choice of Consultancy Decides the Outcome
Food safety is upheld not on paper but on the floor, every single day. Hazard analysis and CCP determination differ by product and process, so when a vendor that doesn't know your process simply fills in standard templates, you lose on both the audit and real safety.
The Cost of the Wrong Choice
- · Filling in standard templates without knowing your process throws off CCP judgment
- · A merely formal hygiene system can't prevent actual foreign-object or food-poisoning incidents
- · Obtaining ISO 22000 alone, with no export or FSSC expansion plan, means reworking it later
- · The cost of finding a new vendor again at renewal and surveillance
What Makes a Good Partner
- · An expert who knows both the food floor and the audit designs around your product's risks
- · Builds on your existing HACCP assets to expand into ISO 22000 without duplication
- · If you have export goals, a phased design that looks ahead all the way to FSSC 22000
- · One team that stays with you through renewal and operation, not just certification
Why Just Verify Is Different
Experienced food auditors take 1:1 ownership. We design a floor that is genuinely safe — not just one that passes the audit.
We map the roadmap from HACCP → ISO 22000 → FSSC 22000 together from the very start.
A cumulative track record of 500 certified enterprises and sector-specific know-how reduce trial and error.
Expected Benefits
Expand Exports
Clear overseas export barriers with an internationally recognized standard
Strengthen Hygiene
Prevent foreign-object and food-poisoning incidents through systematic hygiene management
Brand Trust
Build a brand image of providing safe food
Easier Supply
Meet the supply conditions of large marts, convenience stores, and catering companies
Frequently Asked Questions
How is HACCP different from ISO 22000?
How does ISO 22000 differ from FSSC 22000?
What are PRP, OPRP, and CCP, and why do they matter?
Beyond food manufacturers, can distribution and logistics companies obtain it?
Why does choosing the right certification consultancy matter so much?
Start your food safety certification with export in view
30-day average completion, 30% cost reduction, and a cumulative track record of 500 certified enterprises. Just Verify guides you down the path from HACCP to ISO 22000 and on to FSSC 22000.