Overview
ISO 22005:2007 - Traceability in the feed and food chain - defines the general principles and basic requirements for the design and implementation of a feed and food traceability system. Applicable to any organization at any step in the feed and food chain, ISO 22005:2007 positions traceability as a technical tool to document product history or locate products/components and to support objectives such as food safety, recall capability and regulatory compliance. The standard emphasizes flexibility, technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness and clarifies that a traceability system alone does not guarantee food safety.
Key topics and requirements
ISO 22005:2007 sets out clear, practical requirements for traceability system design and operation, including:
- Principles: systems must be verifiable, consistent, results-oriented, cost-effective, practical and compliant with regulations and defined accuracy requirements.
- Objectives: identify traceability goals relevant to food safety, customer specifications, recalls, origin/history and stakeholder communication.
- Design elements: document objectives, regulatory requirements, relevant products/ingredients, position in the feed and food chain, flow of materials, information needs, procedures, documentation and chain coordination.
- Information & records: define what data to obtain from suppliers, what to collect for product/process history, and what to provide to customers; determine document retention periods and media for record-keeping.
- Procedures: product and lot definition/identification, data management and recording protocols, information retrieval, and nonconformity management (corrections and corrective actions).
- Implementation: develop a traceability plan, assign responsibilities, provide training, set up monitoring, and define key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Verification & improvement: internal audits, traceability testing and periodic reviews to drive corrective and preventive actions and continuous improvement.
ISO 22005 expects traceability to cover at least one step forward and one step backward for each organization in the chain and supports coordination between multiple organizations for chain-wide traceability.
Applications and who should use it
ISO 22005:2007 is intended for:
- Food and feed manufacturers, processors and packers
- Primary producers and feed suppliers
- Distributors, logistics providers and retailers
- Quality assurance, compliance and supply chain managers
- Regulatory bodies and auditors designing or assessing traceability systems
Practical use cases include product recalls, origin verification, supplier control, customer specification compliance, and improving supply chain transparency and responsiveness.
Related standards
- ISO 22000:2005 (Food safety management systems) - referenced for document and records control
- ISO 9000:2005 - quality terminology and process concepts
- ISO 19011 - auditing guidelines
- Codex Alimentarius CAC/GL 60-2006 - Codex principles for traceability
Keywords: ISO 22005, traceability in the feed and food chain, traceability system design, traceability plan, lot identification, supply chain traceability, traceability requirements, food safety compliance.