ISO/TS 22002-1: PRP Requirements Explained

ISO/TS 22002-1 — Prerequisite Programmes for Food Manufacturing

ISO 22000 says you need prerequisite programmes. ISO/TS 22002-1 tells you what they actually contain — for food manufacturing. It’s the PRP specification behind FSSC 22000 certification, and the most detailed public description of “good manufacturing practice” in international standards.

Key provisions

• PRP detail: requirements for construction and layout, utilities (air, water, energy), waste management, equipment suitability and maintenance, purchased materials management, contamination prevention, cleaning and sanitizing, pest control, personal hygiene, rework, product recall procedures, warehousing, and food defense/biovigilance.
• Role in FSSC 22000: FSSC 22000 = ISO 22000 + ISO/TS 22002-1 (sector PRPs) + FSSC additional requirements. The TS is what makes FSSC auditable at PRP level.
• Sector series: 22002 has parts for other sectors — catering (part 2), farming (part 3), food packaging manufacturing (part 4), transport and storage (part 5), feed (part 6).
• Technical specification: published as a TS rather than a full ISO standard, but normative within FSSC certification.

Why it matters

22002-1 is the document that turns “have good PRPs” from a slogan into an auditable checklist. FSSC 22000 auditors use it directly — every clause is a potential audit question. For sites building PRPs from scratch, it’s the best-structured template available: comprehensive without being prescriptive about how. Read it alongside your GMP walkthrough and the gaps announce themselves.

TS to ISO transition

ISO/TS 22002-1 spent years as a Technical Specification before its content matured into the ISO 22002 series — a common path for documents that need real-world testing before full standard status. For FSSC 22000 certified companies, the practical impact was minimal: the PRP requirements carried over, and certification bodies managed the transition without requiring re-audits. The episode illustrates how food safety standards evolve: GMP details that were once certification-scheme-owned migrate into the ISO system, gaining broader recognition. If your documentation still references the TS number, updating it is housekeeping, not a system change — but auditors notice housekeeping.

Sources: ISO.

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