Clear roles, including the food-safety team leader
Plain-language summary
Everyone with a part in food safety should know their responsibilities, and one named person must lead the food-safety team.
What the clause is really asking
Food safety fails in the gaps between people. This clause makes leadership assign and communicate roles and authorities - who runs the HACCP study, who reacts when a critical limit is breached, who can hold or release product, who reports system performance upward. A food-safety team leader must be appointed to keep it coordinated.
What auditors look for
Auditors test whether people actually know their food-safety duties and limits of authority. They will check that a food-safety team leader is appointed, that operators know who to call when a control fails, and that authority to stop the line or hold product is real and understood.
Typical evidence
Organisation chart; role descriptions with food-safety responsibilities; food-safety team leader appointment; authority matrix for product hold/release
How to comply — recommendations
Define food-safety responsibilities and authorities in writing and make sure they reach the people doing the work, not just the filing system. Appoint a competent food-safety team leader with the backing to act. Make the line-stop and product-hold authorities explicit so nobody hesitates in the moment.
Common nonconformities
No appointed food-safety team leader; operators unsure who to alert on a deviation; authority to hold product unclear
Related clauses
ISO 22000 7.2 (competence), 8.9; ISO 9001 5.3
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