FSSC 22000 Certification in Kenitra

FSSC 22000 is one of the food safety certification schemes recognised by the GFSI. Its version 7, published by the FSSC Foundation in May 2026, combines ISO 22000:2018, the prerequisite programmes of ISO 22002-100:2025 with the applicable sector part, and a series of additional requirements.

For a company in the Gharb, the question almost always comes from export. European importers, buying centres and retailers that buy strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, citrus or early vegetables expect from their supplier a GFSI-recognised certificate, in addition to compliance with the regulations of the country of sale. A packing station falls under category BIII; a unit that processes fruit, for example by freezing or into puree, under category C. Both rely on the sector part ISO 22002-1, in addition to part 100. As the GFSI benchmarking of version 7 is not complete, ask your importer to confirm in writing that it accepts it.

The scheme first concerns the packing stations of the Gharb plain, which receive, sort, grade, pack and ship red fruit, citrus and early vegetables. It also concerns units that go further, such as fruit freezing or the preparation of purees and juices, as well as the cold stores that hold the cold chain until the trucks leave.

In Kenitra itself, plastics and cardboard companies make packaging. Those that supply the food industry, for example punnets for red fruit or crates for citrus, can be certified in category I with ISO 22002-4. If they design the primary packaging, requirement 2.5.13 g asks them to integrate loss reduction into the design.

Finally, exporters who pool the production of several farms are well advised to clarify the certification scope early. What happens in the field generally falls under good agricultural practice schemes; FSSC 22000 begins at receipt at the station.

Kenitra holds its place in the Moroccan economy on two counts. The first is industrial: the Atlantic Free Zone hosts an automotive cluster organised around the plant of a major car-maker, opened in 2019, and its suppliers of wiring, plastics, seats and metal parts. This activity has brought to the region know-how in series production, maintenance and quality control from which other sectors also benefit.

The second is agricultural. The Gharb plain, around the city, produces red fruit, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, citrus and early vegetables, largely for export. Around these crops a network of packing stations, cold storage units and food processing plants has been built.

These are the sites FSSC 22000 concerns. Their activity is seasonal, with peaks when headcount swells and teams change from one campaign to the next. Red fruit, fragile and often eaten without cooking, demands strict control of personnel hygiene, water, surfaces and the cold chain. Buyers also follow pesticide residues closely.

The scheme imposes environmental monitoring on category BIII, as on processing. For a station that until now made do with occasional checks, it is a complete programme to build: zoning, a risk-based sampling plan, trend analysis, review at least annually. Our presence in Kenitra lets us follow these sites at the pace of their campaigns.

An importer of red fruit or citrus generally asks for more than the certificate. It wants a GFSI-recognised certificate whose scope really covers receipt, packing and storage. It wants pesticide residue analyses entrusted to a competent laboratory, which FSSC 22000 also requires under requirement 2.5.1 when the analysis verifies a critical parameter. It expects microbiological results on water, surfaces and sometimes the product, and traceability that goes back from the shipped pallet to the plot.

In audits, stations in the region often stumble on the same points. Seasonal workers are trained late, sometimes after the campaign has started, and training evidence is missing. Water used to wash or cool the fruit is not covered by a suitable analysis plan. Temperature deviations in the cold room are recorded without corrective action. Downgraded fruit and by-products go to animal feed without documented control, although requirement 2.5.16 asks for it. Finally, the risk analysis that justifies the foreign body detection means, required by 2.5.11, is often absent.