Controlling the equipment you measure and monitor with
Plain-language summary
The thermometers, scales, metal detectors, pH meters and timers you rely on for food-safety decisions must themselves be accurate and verified.
What the clause is really asking
If the instrument running a CCP is wrong, the control is an illusion. This clause requires that monitoring and measuring equipment used for food safety is suitable, calibrated or verified against traceable standards where needed, protected, and that you handle the situation when a device is found out of tolerance - including assessing affected product.
What auditors look for
Auditors trace food-safety instruments to the calibration register and certificates, check status labels, and ask what you did when a device was found inaccurate - did you assess the product made since the last good check. Metal detector and thermometer verification routines get close attention.
Typical evidence
Calibration/verification schedule and certificates; instrument register; daily verification records (e.g. metal-detector test pieces); out-of-tolerance product assessments
How to comply — recommendations
Identify every instrument that informs a food-safety decision and put it on a calibration or verification programme traceable to recognised standards - use accredited labs. Run in-use checks like metal-detector test-piece challenges and thermometer verification, and record them. Have a clear rule for assessing product when a device is found out of tolerance.
Common nonconformities
CCP instrument not calibrated or traceable; metal-detector daily checks missing or unrecorded; no product assessment when a device fails calibration
Related clauses
ISO 22000 8.5.4, 8.8; ISO 9001 7.1.5
Qlause provides interpretive guidance only and is not a substitute for the standard. Refer to your licensed copy of the relevant standard for the authoritative text.