New food traceability standard

London -- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has released a new standard: ISO22005:2007 - Traceability in the feed and food chain - General principles and basic requirements for system design and implementations. The addition to the ISO 22000 series on food management systems is intended to further ensure the safety of food products for consumers.

According to ISO, the new standard establishes the principles and requirements for the design and implementation of a feed and food traceability system and will allow organizations operating at any step of the food chain to:

- Trace the flow of materials (feed, food, their ingredients and packaging).

- Identify necessary documentation and tracking for each stage of production.

- Ensure adequate coordination between the different actors involved.

- Require that each party be informed of at least his direct suppliers and clients, and more.

As safety hazards can enter the food chain at any stage, adequate control and communication throughout the process is essential, continued an ISO statement. “One weak link in the supply chain can result in unsafe food, which can present a serious danger to consumers and have costly repercussions for suppliers. Food safety is therefore the joint responsibility of all actors involved.”

ISO went on to note how the diversity of retail and private quality schemes in the food industry generates uneven levels of safety, confusion over requirements and increased cost and complication for suppliers obliged to conform to multiple programs. ISO 22005, it claims, “offers a unique solution for good practice on a worldwide basis and thus contributes to lowering trade barriers.