The requirement that applies today
Top management sets a food safety policy that fits the organization and its context, gives a frame for setting objectives, commits to meeting applicable food safety requirements including legal and agreed customer ones, covers communication, commits to continual improvement and addresses the competencies the system needs. The policy is documented, understood and applied at every level and is made available to interested parties where appropriate.
ISO 22000:2018, 5.2 Food safety policy; ISO/DIS 22000:2026, 5.2.
What the draft does
Retitled; possible consolidation, wording not verified: The public contents show 5.2 as "Food safety policy" with no subclauses, where the current edition splits establishing the policy from communicating it. An omission from a contents page does not prove consolidation; the draft text is sold by ISO and not held here.
Source: public contents and foreword at 5.2, retrieved 2026-10-19.
Why this clause matters
The policy is the one document every auditor reads and every employee is expected to recognise. The test is not whether it exists but whether it says something the site actually does, and whether the commitments in it can be traced to objectives, resources and communication.
Suggested evidence to discuss with your auditor
For 5.2, these are the artefacts we suggest discussing with your auditor. The standard publishes no evidence list, so this is our reading, not a requirement.
- The policy, current, approved and available where people work
- Traceability from each policy commitment to an objective or a process
- Evidence of communication to all levels and to relevant external parties
Where systems usually fall short
- A policy that promises things the system does not resource
- A policy displayed at reception but unknown in the production areas
How to prepare
Read the policy line by line and write the evidence for each commitment in the margin. Any line with no evidence is either a gap or a sentence that should come out. This is a 30-minute exercise that prevents a recurring audit finding.
Dates
Cross-references
Source
Clause 5.2. Current edition: ISO 22000:2018. Draft: ISO/DIS 22000:2026. Retrieved 2026-10-19. The full DIS text for 5.2 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.