(ISO: Geneva) -- Thousands of food manufacturers worldwide stand to benefit from a newly published document in the ISO 22000 series designed to prevent and control food safety hazards.

ISO technical specification, ISO/TS 22002-1—“Prerequisite programs on food safety—Part 1: food manufacturing,” sets out requirements for prerequisite programs needed to realize safe products and provide food that is safe for human consumption. It is intended to be used in conjunction with and to support ISO 22000, which gives requirements for a food safety management system.

The new technical specification has the potential of being greatly influential since at least 8,206 organizations in 112 countries were independently certified to ISO 22000 at the end of 2008. (This is an increase on the figure announced in “The ISO Survey of Certifications—2008” as recent information has allowed the total for France to be updated from 18 to 122.)

ISO/TS 22002-1 specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, and maintaining prerequisite programs designed to help food manufacturers be able to control:

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