What the held sources require
No current numbered requirement Draft title plus held scheme obligation
The draft adds a clause on complaints management at 10.3; the draft wording is not held. The obligation below is the held SQF Code Edition 9 requirement at 2.1.3, which covers the same ground. The site documents who handles food safety complaints and how they are received, investigated and closed, whether they come from consumers, trade customers or regulators, and whether the product was made, handled or co-manufactured elsewhere. Adverse trends are investigated and analysed, the root cause is found by people who know the incidents, corrective and preventive action is proportionate to seriousness and root cause, and records of complaints, investigations and resolutions are kept. The current ISO 22000 edition already covers complaints through external communication, corrective action and management review.
ISO/DIS 22000:2026, 10.3 Complaints management; held obligation: SQF Code Edition 9 2.1.3.
What the draft does
New in the draft; obligation from held SQF Code Edition 9 2.1.3: The public contents name 10.3 and the foreword lists complaints handling. The draft wording is not held. The obligation is the held SQF Code Edition 9 clause 2.1.3 requirement, stated in our own words and labelled as a scheme requirement.
Source: public contents and foreword at 10.3, retrieved 2026-10-19.
Held obligation: SQF Code Edition 9 2.1.3, stated in our own words.
Why this clause matters
Complaints are the cheapest early warning a food business has, and most sites bury them in customer service. The draft makes the process, the trend analysis and the improvement visible. The held SQF requirement is a concrete model for what an auditor will sample.
Suggested evidence to discuss with your auditor
For 10.3, these are the artefacts we suggest discussing with your auditor. The standard publishes no evidence list, so this is our reading, not a requirement.
- Complaint procedure naming who handles each type
- Complaint log with investigation, root cause and closure
- Trend analysis by product, site, hazard and customer
- Corrective action records and the effect check
Where systems usually fall short
- Complaints closed without root cause analysis
- No trending of complaint data
- Complaints held by customer service and never seen by the food safety team
How to prepare
Pull twelve months of complaints, group them by product and cause, and pick the largest group. Ask what it says about the process, write one corrective action and measure the group again after three months. That analysis is the evidence the clause asks for.
Dates
Cross-references
Source
Clause 10.3. Current edition: ISO 22000:2018. Draft: ISO/DIS 22000:2026. Retrieved 2026-10-19. The full DIS text for 10.3 is sold by ISO and not held here; the sources page lists what is.
Not legal advice; does not certify; our words, not the standard's, and the planning date is an estimate.