Current state and advances in the implementation of ISO 14000 by the food industry. Comparison of ISO 14000 to ISO 9000 to other environmental programs

Nowadays, environmental pollution has become a very critical and acute issue and in view of the increasing number of industrial accidents both the public and ecological movements have managed to increase the sensitivity of governments of many countries toward these problems. Environmental awareness resulted in the recent promulgation of a new environmental standards, ISO 14000/EMS, aiming at universal acceptance to improve the environmental performance of companies, to minimize liabilities and to enhance the image of the companies. Food companies have just started to endorse this. In contrast, the chemical and the automobile industries were the first to adopt these new ISO 14000 standards.