ISO 22000 certification in Kenya

ISO 22000 certification in Kenya at a glance

Food safety in Kenya starts with a premises licence, and an ISO 22000 certificate is built on top of it. The Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act (Cap. 254) bars unwholesome food and preparation under insanitary conditions, and the Food Hygiene Regulations, 1978 require a licence for premises that sell, prepare, package, store or display food, without naming ISO 22000. The Kenya Accreditation Service lists food safety management systems, ISO 22000 with ISO 22003-1, in its African Accreditation Cooperation certificate, which is what a food business should ask a certification body about. Horticulture exporters also deal with KEPHIS, which issues phytosanitary certificates, and the export processing zone programme names food processing among its target sectors. Certificates come from accredited certification bodies, never from Sterling. Sterling's Nairobi office prepares the system, with Effivity and Sterling Academy included and 20+ years of practice behind it.

Who needs ISO 22000 in Kenya, and what happens without it

In Kenya the question rarely comes from a law. It comes from the buyer, the regulator or the partner that wants proof before it signs. These are the organisations that get asked.

• Food processors, packers and storage operatorsThe food hygiene regulations require a licence for premises used to sell, prepare, package, store or display food, and a certified food safety management system builds on that licence.
• Horticulture and food processing exportersExport markets and buyers ask for food safety evidence alongside the phytosanitary certificate that KEPHIS issues.
• Small and medium food firms in the export processing zonesThe zone authority's SME track names horticulture and food processing among its target sectors.
• Caterers, hospitality and food service suppliersCustomers with their own food safety programmes ask suppliers to show how hazards are controlled.

ISO 22000 requirements in Kenya

Strip away the vocabulary and ISO 22000 requires a company to prove six things about keeping food safe from supplier to customer.

In Kenya these six sit alongside the local laws and regulations listed under drivers below; one system can evidence both. The detail is on the global hub: ISO 22000 explained →

• ISO 22000 requirements, clause by clause in plain language
• The documents ISO 22000 expects
• ISO 22000 checklist

How to get ISO 22000 certified in Kenya

One team from the Nairobi office carries the work from scoping to certificate. Clients across Kenya are served from Sterling's Nairobi office, on-site where the work needs it and remotely otherwise.

1. Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
2. Gap assessment against ISO 22000 and the Kenyan requirements that apply to youControls you already run for your regulators and customers are reused, not rebuilt.
3. Your system built with your team in EffivityRisks, controls, evidence, incidents and reviews in one live system the auditor can see.
4. Internal audit, management review and corrective actionsYour internal auditors trained by Sterling; the evidence proven before the certification body arrives.
5. Certification body stage 1 and stage 2, then surveillanceAn accredited body audits and decides. Sterling supports the audits and the three-year cycle.

The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements.Sterling does not certify. Certification decisions stay with independent bodies.

• The ISO 22000 certification process, step by step
• ISO 22000 gap analysis
• ISO 22000 implementation plan
• ISO 22000 internal audit

How long does ISO 22000 certification take in Kenya?

There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In Kenya these are the factors that set the timeline.

• Number of products, lines and sites in scope
• Maturity of prerequisite programmes, hazard analysis and traceability
• Supplier controls for raw materials and packaging
• Certification body scheduling around production and export peaks

Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.

• What drives the ISO 22000 timeline
• Scope and timeline estimator

How much does ISO 22000 certification cost in Kenya?

The cost has two parts: the consulting work to build and prove the system, and the certification body’s audit fees, which are quoted separately. In Kenya these factors move both.

• Number of sites, lines and employees in scope
• Laboratory testing and environmental monitoring needs
• Certification body audit fees quoted separately from consulting
• Facility and equipment remediation

Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.

• What makes up the cost of ISO 22000

ISO 22000 consultants and certification bodies in Kenya

Two different organisations are involved. A consultant helps you build the system and prove it works; an accredited certification body then audits or assesses it and decides. Keeping the two separate is what makes the result credible to buyers and regulators.

• Check that the body’s accreditation or approval covers ISO 22000 and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
• Ask the consultant how the local requirements in Kenya are mapped into the same system, so nothing runs twice.
• Ask for client references in your sector; Sterling’s client letters are available on request.
• Agree who owns the evidence and the tool after the engagement; with Sterling the system stays yours, in Effivity.

• Choosing an ISO 22000 certification body
• How to verify an ISO 22000 certificate

ISO 22000 in Kenya: questions clients ask

More on ISO 22000 for Kenyan organisations

• ISO 22000: the complete guide
• Watch: How to implement ISO 22000
• Catering and hotels: ISO 22000 for the sector
• Feed and animal food: ISO 22000 for the sector
• Food and beverage manufacturing: ISO 22000 for the sector
• Food packaging manufacturing: ISO 22000 for the sector
• Ingredients and supplements: ISO 22000 for the sector
• Retail and wholesale: ISO 22000 for the sector
• Transport, storage and distribution: ISO 22000 for the sector
• Sterling in Nairobi
• ISO 22000 certification in Kenya and every other standard Sterling delivers there

Other standards Kenyan businesses ask Sterling for

Organisations in Kenya often combine ISO 22000 with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.

All 21 standards Sterling delivers in Kenya →