ISO 14001:2015 for food businesses
ISO 14001 for food industry: certificate online
Dairies, bakeries, meat processors and beverage producers are asked for ISO 14001 in supplier questionnaires and tenders. With Zertify you answer 34 yes/no questions about your environmental management online. After you pass and pay, the certificate arrives within 4 hours.
01: Demand
Why food buyers ask for ISO 14001
A food manufacturer sells to retailers, wholesalers, caterers and other producers. Their purchasing departments send supplier questionnaires, and environmental management is a fixed block in them. The question is whether you hold ISO 14001. A no costs points, sometimes the listing.
Tenders from public bodies and large buyers score environmental criteria in the same way. A certificate attached to the quote answers the question before anyone asks it.
Food production consumes a great deal of water, cooling energy and packaging, and it produces organic waste every day. Buyers look at these areas closely because they want to know that someone in your company tracks them and works to reduce them. ISO 14001 is the common proof of that.
02: Processes
Which environmental risks in food production does the standard address?
ISO 14001 does not prescribe limits for your plant. It asks you to find out where your processes affect the environment, to rank those effects and to keep them under control. In a food business the usual points are these.
- Cooling and heat
- Cold stores, blast chillers, ovens and pasteurisers use most of the energy. Meter readings per line show where it goes.
- Process water and wastewater
- Washing raw material, cleaning vats and rinsing lines produce wastewater with a high load of organic matter.
- Food waste and by-products
- Trimmings, whey, spoiled batches and returned goods must be separated, recorded and sent to the right route.
- Packaging
- Film, trays, cartons and pallets add up. The standard asks you to know the volumes and set a reduction target.
- Cleaning and disinfection agents
- Storage, dosing and disposal of cleaning chemicals are an environmental aspect as much as a hygiene topic.
- Refrigerant leaks and spills
- A leak in a cooling circuit or a tank spill is an emergency scenario that needs a written response and a trained team.
- Deliveries and cold chain transport
- Refrigerated vehicles, route planning and loading times affect fuel use and emissions.
03: Requirements
How a food company meets the key requirements
The standard follows the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and sits with management. The table shows what each core requirement looks like in a food business.
| Requirement | Example in a food business |
|---|---|
| Environmental aspects and impacts (clause 6) | A register of water, energy, waste and packaging per production line, with a note on which items are significant. |
| Compliance obligations (clause 6) | A list of the permits and legal rules that apply to your site, such as wastewater discharge, with the person who checks them. |
| Environmental policy (clause 5) | One page signed by the owner or managing director, with a commitment to prevent pollution and improve. |
| Objectives and actions (clause 6) | Cut water use per tonne of product by a set share within 12 months, with a named owner and a date. |
| Emergency preparedness (clause 8) | A procedure for refrigerant leaks and chemical spills, posted at the plant room and practised once a year. |
| Monitoring and reporting (clause 9) | Monthly figures for energy, water and waste, reviewed in a management meeting and filed. |
Most food businesses already hold much of this data in utility bills, waste invoices and cleaning schedules. The standard asks you to collect it in one system and act on it.
04: Getting started
Six steps to prepare an environmental management system in a food plant
You do not need a consultant to begin. The following order works for a small producer or a single-site processor.
List sites and processes
Write down receiving, storage, production, packing, cleaning and dispatch for each site.
Gather the figures you have
Electricity, gas, water and waste invoices for the last twelve months are enough for a first picture.
Collect your permits
File every permit and legal requirement that applies to your site and note the renewal dates.
Choose two objectives
Pick measurable targets, for example less packaging waste or lower water use per batch.
Name a responsible person
Someone in management owns the system and reports once a quarter.
Answer the self-assessment
Go through the questions and see which points are still open.
05: Zertify
Getting ISO 14001 certified with Zertify
The self-assessment for ISO 14001 has 34 yes/no questions. 14 of them are mandatory requirements of the standard and all must be answered yes. Among the other 20, at least 14 must be yes. You can start without an account and see straight away where you stand.
SICE reviews every assessment before the certificate is issued. The certificate itself is issued by G6 Agency AG under licence from SICE, within 4 hours after you pass and pay. It carries a number and a QR code. A buyer scans the code or enters the number on the public verification page and sees that the certificate is genuine.
The price is CHF 699 (€699) in the first year, then CHF 469 (€469) per year including the yearly online re-audit. The certificate is valid for 3 years. Prices include 8.1% Swiss VAT for customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The subscription renews every year and you can cancel it at any time in your customer account, effective at the end of the paid year. If you also need ISO 9001 or ISO 45001, you get 20% off for two standards and 30% off for three or more, on the yearly fee as well.
06: Routes
Online certificate or on-site audit?
The Zertify certificate rests on an online self-assessment with no on-site audit. A short online re-audit confirms it every year. For many food suppliers this is enough to answer a supplier questionnaire or support a quote.
The classic route with an on-site audit by a certification body takes more time and costs more. Some buyers name it in their tender documents. Check the wording of the buyer's requirement before you choose, and ask the buyer if it is unclear.
07: FAQ
Questions about ISO 14001 in the food industry
08: Guide
Related pages
Check your environmental management now
Answer the 34 questions for ISO 14001 and see whether your food business passes.
Free and without registration.