FSSC 22000 / ISO 22000

FSSC 22000 · built on ISO 22000

The accredited food-safety certification applied to the factories that make dog food, sitting inside the formal accreditation chain.

01 What It Is

FSSC 22000 is a food-safety management certification scheme for food and feed manufacturers, the pet-food factory included. It is built on the international standard ISO 22000, with sector-specific prerequisite requirements for animal-feed and pet-food production added on top. It is benchmarked by the Global Food Safety Initiative, the body that recognizes credible food-safety schemes.

02 What It Covers

The scheme governs how a manufacturing site controls hazards from raw material to finished product: hygiene, contamination control, traceability and the management systems behind them. For pet food it draws on the prerequisite program for animal-feed production, so a certified plant has shown it manages the specific risks of making food that animals will eat.

03 How It Is Checked

This is where FSSC 22000 differs from a guideline. Sites are audited by independent certification bodies, and those bodies are themselves accredited by national accreditation authorities to a recognized norm. That places the certification inside the full accreditation chain: the manufacturer is checked by a certifier, and the certifier is checked by an accreditation body, so the certificate is not self-awarded.

04 Why It Matters

Nutrition decides whether a dog food is adequate; manufacturing safety decides whether it is contaminated. FSSC 22000 is about the second. A certified plant has had its hazard controls independently audited under accredited oversight, which is the strongest assurance a buyer has that what is in the bag was made safely, rather than simply formulated correctly.

Common Questions

Is it about nutrition?

No. It is about manufacturing safety, not nutrition. It governs whether a dog food is made safely, not whether it is nutritionally adequate.

What is it built on?

The international standard ISO 22000, with sector-specific prerequisite requirements for animal-feed and pet-food production added on top. It is benchmarked by the Global Food Safety Initiative.

What does it cover?

How a manufacturing site controls hazards from raw material to finished product: hygiene, contamination control, traceability and the management systems behind them.

How is it checked?

Sites are audited by independent certification bodies, which are themselves accredited by national accreditation authorities. That places it inside the full accreditation chain, so the certificate is not self-awarded.

Who does it apply to?

Food and feed manufacturers, including the pet-food factory.

Why does it matter?

A certified plant has had its hazard controls independently audited under accredited oversight, the strongest assurance a buyer has that what is in the bag was made safely.

Primary sources

FSSC 22000 schemefssc.com
ISO 22000:2018 Food safety management systemsiso.org