In 2015, Atlas Copco achieved ISO 22000 certification, proving that supplier compliance is feasible. We believe ISO 22000 certification will quickly become a standard requirement for compressor and other manufacturing suppliers thanks to the distinct benefits that it offers F&B companies.

Introduced in 2005 as an industry-specific offshoot of ISO 9001, ISO 22000 has quickly emerged as the most important global F&B quality standard. Achieving and maintaining ISO 22000 certification is key for F&B production plants worldwide. This requirement is gradually extending to F&B equipment suppliers. Atlas Copco received ISO 22000 certification for the production of the oil-free Z compressors, blowers, dryers and filters in our Antwerp production facility. 

For our F&B customers, the benefits of working with a certified compressor supplier are significant: 

•  Peace of mind that a key piece of manufacturing equipment was designed and assembled in a controlled, clean and safe environment.

•  Increased transparency as Atlas Copco has a documented Food Safety Management System (FSMS) in place. 

•  A revision of the ISO 22000 standard is currently underway with the update expected in 2017. As an ISO 22000 expert, Atlas Copco can assist customers as they go through the updated process.

Starting the ISO 22000 certification process might seem an unusual approach for a compressor manufacturer. Why go for an industry standard that technically doesn’t apply to us? Simply put, Atlas Copco believes that if ISO 22000 certification is key for our F&B customers, it should be driving us as well. 

As Atlas Copco was the first compressor manufacturer to target ISO 22000, it required an investment from both Atlas Copco and Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, our auditing firm, to establish a new type of procedure within the certification process.

The resulting intensive workshops and comprehensively executed audits demonstrated that Atlas Copco’s oil-free facility in Antwerp meets all the ISO 22000 requirements. This means that the site is now certified as having systems in place that consistently provide safe oil-free Z compressors, blowers, dryers, filters and air treatment products for the F&B industry.

Because of the clear benefits for F&B companies, we expect them to start introducing supplier ISO 22000 certification as a key requirement in RFPs and to make it part of their ISO 22000 prerequisite programs (PRPs).

Compressed air and food safety

In F&B production, compressed air is used for applications such as sorting and ejecting, mixing, aerating substances, and inflating or stuffing products. 

First and foremost, compressed air in an F&B production environment must be absolutely clean. Any chance of air-based contamination of the end product must be eliminated. This often means the entire air system must meet the highest quality standards, as safety and efficiency concerns increasingly drive F&B companies to install one common compressed air net. Atlas Copco was the first to produce Class 0 clean air as certified by TÜV Rheinland. This standard was created after analysis showed that our oil-free compressors can produce air that is completely free of oil aerosols and vapours. It is a much more reliable and cleaner standard than filtered air from an oil-injected compressor can offer. 

After the introduction of Class 0 air, we set out to find the next innovation that could make a meaningful difference to our F&B customers. ISO 22000 certification proved to be that next step.

In the end, ISO 22000 is an issue too important to ignore for manufacturing suppliers to the F&B industry. As key suppliers we have a supporting and contributing role that includes assuming our responsibility when it comes to ISO 22000.

Tony Beeckmans is segment manager, Atlas Copco Oil-free Air Division.

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The importance of ISO 22000

ISO 22000 is aimed at any organisation in the F&B industry, regardless of size, that wishes to implement systems that consistently provide safe food products. The standard demonstrates an organisation’s ability to control food safety hazards.

The standard uses the Quality Management System approach, tailored to apply to Food Safety, and incorporates the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Good Manufacturing Principles (GMP). The standard also encourages the harmonization of existing national and private standards into one international certification.

ISO 22000 compliance means that an organization has a fully documented Food Safety Management System (FSMS) in place. This includes:

The development of an effective FSMS and subsequent documenting, implementing, maintaining, evaluating and updating of the FSMS;

Prerequisite programs (PRPs) for a clean, sanitary environment to minimise the likelihood of introducing contamination through the workplace;

HACCP to identify, prevent and eliminate food safety hazards;

Processes to manage food safety throughout the organisation.