Reference number
ISO 15161:2001(E)
© ISO 2001
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
ISO
15161
First edition
2001-11-15
Guidelines on the application of
ISO 9001:2000 for the food and drink
industry
Lignes directrices relatives à l'application de l'ISO 9001:2000 aux industries
de l'alimentaire et des boissons
ISO 15161:2001(E)
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ISO 15161:2001(E)
© ISO 2001 – All rights reserved iii
Contents Page
Foreword..................................................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................v
1 Scope ..............................................................................................................................................................1
2 Normative reference ......................................................................................................................................1
3 Terms and definitions ...................................................................................................................................1
4 Quality management system........................................................................................................................3
4.1 General requirements....................................................................................................................................3
4.2 Documentation requirements.......................................................................................................................4
5 Management responsibility ..........................................................................................................................7
5.1 Management commitment ............................................................................................................................7
5.2 Customer focus .............................................................................................................................................7
5.3 Quality policy .................................................................................................................................................8
5.4 Planning..........................................................................................................................................................8
5.5 Responsibility, authority and communication ...........................................................................................9
5.6 Management review.....................................................................................................................................10
6 Resource management ...............................................................................................................................11
6.1 Provision of resources................................................................................................................................11
6.2 Human resources ........................................................................................................................................11
6.3 Infrastructure ...............................................................................................................................................12
6.4 Work environment .......................................................................................................................................12
7 Product realization ......................................................................................................................................13
7.1 Planning of product realization..................................................................................................................13
7.2 Customer-related processes ......................................................................................................................15
7.3 Design and development ............................................................................................................................17
7.4 Purchasing ...................................................................................................................................................20
7.5 Production and service provision..............................................................................................................22
7.6 Control of monitoring and measuring devices.........................................................................................25
8 Measurement, analysis and improvement ................................................................................................26
8.1 General..........................................................................................................................................................26
8.2 Monitoring and measurement ....................................................................................................................27
8.3 Control of nonconforming product............................................................................................................29
8.4 Analysis of data ...........................................................................................................................................30
8.5 Improvement ................................................................................................................................................30
Annex A (informative) Interrelationship between the HACCP and ISO 9001:2000 systems .............................33
Bibliography..............................................................................................................................................................35
ISO 15161:2001(E)
iv © ISO 2001 – All rights reserved
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO
member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical
committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has
the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in
liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 3.
Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting.
Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this International Standard may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard ISO 15161 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 34, Food products.
Annex A of this International Standard is for information only.
A list of standards and other publications related to this International Standard is given in the Bibliography.
ISO 15161:2001(E)
© ISO 2001 – All rights reserved v
Introduction
ISO 9001:2000, Quality management systems — Requirements
0.1 General
The adoption of a quality management system should be a strategic decision of an organization. The design and
implementation of an organization's quality management system is influenced by varying needs, particular
objectives, the products provided, the processes employed and the size and structure of the organization. It is not
the intent of this International Standard to imply uniformity in the structure of quality management systems or
uniformity of documentation.
The quality management system requirements specified in this International Standard are complementary to
requirements for products. Information marked “NOTE” is for guidance in understanding or clarifying the associated
requirement.
This International Standard can be used by internal and external parties, including certification bodies, to assess
the organization’s ability to meet customer, regulatory and the organization's own requirements.
The quality management principles stated in ISO 9004:2000 have been taken into consideration during the
development of this International Standard.
0.2 Process approach
This International Standard promotes the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing and
improving the effectiveness of a quality management system, to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting
customer requirements.
For an organization to function effectively, it has to identify and manage numerous linked activities. An activity
using resources, and managed in order to enable the transformation of inputs into outputs, can be considered as a
process. Often the output from one process directly forms the input to the next.
The application of a system of processes within an organization, together with the identification and interactions of
these processes, and their management, can be referred to as the “process approach”.
An advantage of the process approach is the ongoing control that it provides over the linkage between the
individual processes within the system of processes, as well as over their combination and interaction.
When used within a quality management system, such an approach emphasizes the importance of
a) understanding and fulfilling requirements,
b) the need to consider processes in terms of added value,
c) obtaining results of process performance and effectiveness, and
d) continual improvement of processes based on objective measurement.
The model of a process-based quality management system shown in Figure 1 illustrates the process linkages
presented in clauses 4 to 8. This illustration shows that customers play a significant role in defining requirements as
inputs. Monitoring of customer satisfaction requires the evaluation of information relating to customer perception as
to whether the organization has met the customer requirements. The model shown in Figure 1 covers all the
requirements of this International Standard, but does not show processes at a detailed level.
ISO 15161:2001(E)
vi © ISO 2001 – All rights reserved
NOTE In addition, the methodology known as “Plan-Do-Check-Act” (PDCA) can be applied to all processes. PDCA can be
briefly described as follows:
Plan: establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with customer requirements
and the organization's policies.
Do: implement the processes.
Check: monitor and measure processes and product against policies, objectives and requirements for the product and
report the results.
Act: take actions to continually improve process performance.
Figure 1 — Model of a process-based quality management system
0.3 Relationship with ISO 9004
The present editions of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 have been developed as a consistent pair of quality management
system standards which have been designed to complement each other, but can also be used independently.
Although the two International Standards have different scopes, they have similar structures in order to assist their
application as a consistent pair.
ISO 9001 specifies requirements for a quality management system that can be used for internal application by
organizations, or for certification, or for contractual purposes. It focuses on the effectiveness of the quality
management system in meeting customer requirements.
ISO 15161:2001(E)
© ISO 2001 – All rights reserved vii
ISO 9004 gives guidance on a wider range of objectives of a quality management system than does ISO 9001,
particularly for the continual improvement of an organization’s overall performance and efficiency, as well as its
effectiveness. ISO 9004 is recommended as a guide for organizations whose top management wishes to move
beyond the requirements of ISO 9001, in pursuit of continual improvement of performance. However, it is not
intended for certification or for contractual purposes.
0.4 Compatibility with other management systems
This International Standard has been aligned with ISO 14001:1996 in order to enhance the compatibility of the two
standards for the benefit of the user community.
This International Standard does not include requirements specific to other management systems, such as those
particular to environmental management, occupational health and safety management, financial management or
risk management. However, this International Standard enables an organization to align or integrate its own quality
management system with related management system requirements. It is possible for an organization to adapt its
existing management system(s) in order to establish a quality management system that complies with the
requirements of this International Standard.
There is a need for guidance on implementing the requirements of ISO 9001 for organizations involved in all
aspects of the food and drink industry. This includes organizations involved in sourcing, processing and packaging
food and drink products. This International Standard aims to encourage the use of the ISO 9000 series of
standards within the food and drink industry – the use of these standards alongside other common systems in use
in this sector may assist an organization to better address customer satisfaction and organizational effectiveness
by the effective implementation of a quality management system.
ISO 9001 also requires organizations to seek to continually improve their quality management systems, an aspect
often missing from other models of food safety management commonly used in the food and drink industry.
The adoption of a quality management system needs to be a strategic decision of the organization. The design and
the implementation of an organization’s quality management system is influenced by varying needs: the particular
objectives, the products provided, the processes employed and the size and structure of the organization. It is not
the purpose of ISO 9001 to imply uniformity in the structure of quality management systems or uniformity of the
documentation. The process-oriented base of ISO 9001 makes it easier to envisage how different systems within a
business link together; often it is at the interfaces between internal customers and suppliers or between different
systems that problems occur. Any model which clarifies these critical areas for an organization will assist in the
smooth running of its business.
ISO 9001 focuses on customers' needs and expectations. One of the most important customer expectations (and
often one which is implicit rather than stated directly) is to have safe food products. ISO 9001 allows an
organization to integrate its quality management system with the implementation of food safety systems such as
HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point). The internationally recognized principles and steps of HACCP
are defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in its recommended international code of practice on general
principles of food hygiene. Any other accepted food safety system can, of course, also be integrated into the quality
management system. However, considering the fact that HACCP is widely used comprehensively, this system was
chosen to demonstrate how integration may be achieved.
The application of HACCP within a quality management system conforming to ISO 9001 can result in a food safety
system that is more effective than the application of either ISO 9001 or HACCP alone, leading to enhanced
customer satisfaction and improved organizational effectiveness. As an example, the application of HACCP for the
identification of hazards and control of risks is related to quality planning and preventive actions required by
ISO 9001. Once the critical points have been identified, the principles of ISO 9001 can be used for control and
monitoring. Procedures for conducting an HACCP study can easily be documented within the quality system.
To assist the user, the requirements of ISO 9001 are given in boxed text in this International Standard, followed by
relevant guidance.
ISO 15161:2001(E)
viii © ISO 2001 – All rights reserved
Linkages between the basic HACCP principles and specific clauses of ISO 9001 are shown in annex A.
This International Standard represents an attempt to identify the specific issues to be considered when establishing a
quality management system in the field of the food and drink industry. Therefore, users of this International Standard
are encouraged to gather any experience gained in connection with its application and inform the ISO/TC 34
Secretariat accordingly, so that their views can be taken into account in the first revision.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 15161:2001(E)
© ISO 2001 – All rights reserved 1
Guidelines on the application of ISO 9001:2000 for the food and
drink industry
1 Scope
This International Standard gives guidance to organizations in applying the requirements of ISO 9001 during the
development and implementation of a quality management system in the food and drink industry.
This International Standard gives information on the possible interactions of the ISO 9000 series of standards and
the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system for food safety requirements.
This International Standard is not intended for certification, regulatory or contractual use.
2 Normative reference
The following normative document contains provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of
this International Standard. For dated references, subsequent amendments to, or revisions of, any of these
publications do not apply. However, parties to agreements based on this International Standard are encouraged to
investigate the possibility of applying the most recent edition of the normative document indicated below. For
undated references, the latest edition of the normative document referred to applies. Members of ISO and IEC