Auditor transition course conducted on food safety management system

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB), hosted a series of certified auditor training sessions on Food Safety Management System (FSMS) based on ISO 22000:2018; this is the new version of the standard that is replacing ISO 22000:2005. 

In this series, auditors from conformity assessment bodies (CAB) and assessors of SLAB were apprised of the key variations between the two standards. The first training sessions took place on 11-12 February at Galle Face Hotel, attended by 20 participants, followed by the second training sessions on 13-14 February at the SLAB auditorium, which was attended by 15 participants.

These events took place within the framework of the EU-Sri Lanka Trade-Related Assistance project funded by the European Union (EU). 

The auditor transition training courses on FSMS, certified by the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) and International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA), equipped participants on how to transition to and comply with ISO 22000:2018 and the skills required to audit the new requirements. 

Upon completion of the course, the participants are expected to be able to understand the purpose and application of FSMS; identify the changes due to the adoption of high-level structure and draw comparisons where appropriate; understand the new and revised terms, and other changes specific to the new standard and FSMS. 

These training sessions are an important step towards boosting Sri Lanka’s compliance capacity in meeting international requirements to enable Sri Lankan agro-exporters to enter South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and EU markets.