Food safety management system
The broad management-system concept: the organized way food-safety-related work is brought together in an organization.
Food-safety glossary
A food safety management system is the broad system around food-safety work.
This definition explains the phrase, how it relates to HACCP and a food safety plan, and why those words do not settle what applies to a particular business.
Food safety management system (FSMS) is a broad term for the organized way an organization manages food-safety-related work. ISO describes ISO 22000 as a standard that specifies requirements for an FSMS. Read the ISO 22000 overview.
Three related terms
The phrase is broader than a single plan or hazard-control method.
These terms may be used together, but they point to different ideas. Knowing the distinction can make a conversation clearer without deciding what any organization needs.
HACCP
A systematic approach to identifying, evaluating, and controlling food-safety hazards. See the HACCP definition.
Food safety plan
A written-plan term used in particular contexts. This glossary does not decide whether a plan applies, what it should contain, or whether it is adequate.
Why context matters
A term can clarify the conversation without resolving the requirement.
Related language does not mean identical obligations.
ISO describes ISO 22000 as a standard for a food safety management system that includes concepts such as communication, system management, prerequisite programs, and HACCP principles. FDA uses food-safety-plan language in particular preventive-controls contexts. This page names those distinctions; it does not determine their application.
A source note
ISO and FDA use related terms in different contexts.
That is why this page links to source material rather than turning a definition into an implementation path.
Keep the term and the decision separate.
ISO 22000 is a standard that specifies requirements for an FSMS. FDA’s preventive-controls material describes a food safety plan in the context of a specific rule and notes that coverage and exemptions can matter.
Glossary boundary: This page does not tell a visitor which standard, plan, certification, record, control, or regulatory requirement applies; it does not provide a system to build, validate, audit, or certify.
What this glossary does not decide
This educational definition does not identify food-safety hazards, controls, critical control points, limits, monitoring, procedures, corrective actions, verification, records, or duties. It does not assess a product, formula, process, facility, supplier, co-packer, label, record, or launch; determine applicability, compliance, certification, or audit status; validate a system, plan, or record; certify safety; or provide legal, regulatory, food-safety, quality, financial, accounting, tax, or operational advice.
Source note
Primary references for this definition
These sources support the terminology on this page. They are not a substitute for a brand’s own qualified reviewers, partners, or applicable authorities.
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