Standards Comparison

    ISO 22000

    Voluntary
    2018

    International standard for food safety management systems

    VS

    NERC CIP

    Mandatory
    2006

    Mandatory standards for BES cybersecurity and reliability.

    Quick Verdict

    ISO 22000 provides voluntary FSMS certification for global food chains ensuring safe products via HACCP and PRPs. NERC CIP mandates cyber/physical protections for North American electric utilities to prevent grid instability. Organizations adopt them for compliance, market access, and reliability.

    Food Safety

    ISO 22000

    ISO 22000:2018 Food safety management systems requirements

    Cost
    €€€€
    Complexity
    High
    Implementation Time
    6-12 months

    Key Features

    • Adopts High-Level Structure for integration with other ISO standards
    • Employs two nested PDCA cycles for governance and operations
    • Integrates HACCP principles with full management system discipline
    • Categorizes controls systematically as PRPs, OPRPs, and CCPs
    • Mandates interactive communication across entire food chain
    Critical Infrastructure Protection

    NERC CIP

    NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection Standards

    Cost
    €€€€
    Complexity
    Medium
    Implementation Time
    18-24 months

    Key Features

    • Risk-based BES Cyber System impact categorization
    • Electronic/physical security perimeters with monitoring
    • 35-day patch evaluation and log review cadences
    • Annual audits and FERC enforcement penalties
    • Supply chain risk management for vendors

    Detailed Analysis

    A comprehensive look at the specific requirements, scope, and impact of each standard.

    ISO 22000 Details

    What It Is

    ISO 22000:2018 is the international certification standard for Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS). It applies to any organization in the food chain, providing requirements to deliver safe products via a risk-based approach integrating HACCP principles, PRPs, and HLS management framework.

    Key Components

    • Clauses 4-10 cover context, leadership, planning, support, operation, evaluation, improvement.
    • Core elements: PRPs, hazard analysis, OPRPs/CCPs, traceability, verification.
    • Built on dual PDCA cycles and interactive communication.
    • Supports third-party certification by accredited bodies.

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Meets regulatory/customer requirements, reduces recall risks.
    • Enhances supply chain trust, market access (e.g., GFSI via FSSC 22000).
    • Drives efficiency, continual improvement, integration with ISO 9001/14001.
    • Builds stakeholder confidence through auditable governance.

    Implementation Overview

    • Phased: gap analysis, PRP design, hazard control plan, training, audits.
    • Scalable for SMEs to multinationals across food sectors globally.
    • Requires 3-month operation before certification audits; annual surveillance.

    NERC CIP Details

    What It Is

    NERC CIP (North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection) are mandatory reliability standards for cybersecurity and physical security of the Bulk Electric System (BES). Their primary purpose is to mitigate cyber risks causing BES misoperation or instability, using a risk-based, tiered approach categorizing systems as High, Medium, or Low Impact.

    Key Components

    • Core standards: CIP-002 (scoping), CIP-003 (governance), CIP-004 (personnel), CIP-005/006 (perimeters), CIP-007 (systems security), CIP-008/009/010 (response/recovery/config), up to CIP-014 (supply chain/physical).
    • ~45 detailed requirements across 14 standards.
    • Built on recurring cycles (15/35/90-day cadences) and evidence retention (3 years).
    • Compliance via annual audits, penalties enforced by FERC.

    Why Organizations Use It

    • Legal mandate for BES owners/operators in US/Canada/Mexico.
    • Reduces outage risks, fines (up to $1M+ per violation).
    • Enhances resilience, insurance rates, stakeholder trust.

    Implementation Overview

    • Phased: scoping, gap analysis, controls, audits.
    • Applies to utilities/transmission entities; multi-year for large orgs.
    • Requires CIP Senior Manager, documentation, OT/IT integration. (178 words)

    Key Differences

    Scope

    ISO 22000
    Food safety management systems, HACCP, PRPs
    NERC CIP
    Cyber/physical protection of bulk electric systems

    Industry

    ISO 22000
    Global food chain organizations, all sizes
    NERC CIP
    North American electric utilities, BES owners

    Nature

    ISO 22000
    Voluntary ISO certification standard
    NERC CIP
    Mandatory enforceable reliability standards

    Testing

    ISO 22000
    Internal audits, management reviews, certification audits
    NERC CIP
    Annual audits, evidence retention, enforcement checks

    Penalties

    ISO 22000
    Loss of certification, market access issues
    NERC CIP
    FERC fines up to $1M per violation

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Common questions about ISO 22000 and NERC CIP

    ISO 22000 FAQ

    NERC CIP FAQ

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