A Perfect Blend

Any establishment deciding to utilize ISO of any genre can choose to be certified, although in most ISO categories with the exception of ISO 9001, certification is required. Most establishments do regardless of the ISO category because it adds to their credibility. Certification involves an audit from a 3rd party to determine the implementation and maintenance of various quality issues for the specific process or product. (3) Certification adds validity to statements of quality made by the establishment.

There are several strong points that ISO brings to an establishment:

1. ISO improves quality and therefore the customer’s response to an establishment’s product;
2. ISO helps maintain compliance with regulatory agencies and maintains environmental objectives;
3. ISO makes the best use of time, money and resources;
4. The management standard is a must especially for a large company, and ISO provides this.

Standards are necessary in order to determine the true nature of the quality of the product that is being produced. Without standards, the results are poor quality, poor fit, processes and products that are incompatible with the equipment, processes and products that are unreliable and potentially dangerous. When products meet the standards we tend to take those standards for granted. With ISO, standards are more efficient and accurate and complete records are kept so that even when things are going well those standards are still upheld and used as an example.

According to Praxiom Research Group Ltd., an Edmonton, Alberta, consulting firm that translates ISO standards into laymen’s terms, the standards are management systems to improve performance.

The first ISO quality standard was published in 1987 and then revised in 1994. ISO 9000:2000 was developed as a set of quality management standards and is generic to any process or product. The purpose of this was to facilitate trade globally, and to be able to have standards for all kinds of goods and services. ISO provides for development and implementation of a program that is able to be audited, accredited and measured.

Now with ISO 22000, HACCP, along with supporting measures is being incorporated into companies around the world. In ISO 22000, all points of the food chain is considered, as well as the regulations regarding food safety. (9 CFR 417) It is the purest incorporation of HACCP into ISO and the combination of both sets of standards.

ISO is a quality management tool, in much the same way HACCP is a food safety tool. It is a way for producers to control quality aspects that may have an effect on food safety whether immediate or at a later time. NSF International (Ann Arbor, Mich.) is working to promote the combination of HACCP and ISO in private industry, noting that the combination of the two improves both systems and gives industry and regulators a measure of accountability as well as identifying elements along the chain that may be critical to the food safety issues as well as quality issues that concern consumers. In this way the links in the food chain can be strengthened.

Lydia Guillot is a veterinary medical officer/public health veterinarian for USDA. Reach her at [email protected].