IFS Food

Our experienced and independent auditors guide you from the very first minute of the certification process. They assess whether your company fulfils the requirements of the IFS food standard. The requirements are divided into six chapters.

• Senior management responsibility
• Quality and food safety management system
• Resource management
• Planning and production process
• Measurements, analysis, improvements
• Food Defense

In the on-site audit, the type and significance of every deviation from these requirements is assessed with different grades. Requirements that are not met are considered as Knock Out (KO) or Major deviations. A Major can be assigned for all requirements that are not defined as KO, and leads to deduction of 15 per cent from the total possible number of points. Ten requirements are defined as KO requirements in the IFS standard. If the auditors establish during an audit that one of the KO requirements is not fulfilled, it is not possible to issue a certificate.

IFS Food is a standard for auditing suppliers of private label products and other food-related organisations and only applies to

1. Food processing companies and
2. Companies which package bulk food products.

IFS Food is only used if the product is processed or handled, or if there is a risk of product contamination during the primary packaging process.  

IFS Food can therefore not be used for import (offices, e.g. typical trade intermediaries) or for transportation, storage and distribution.  

In order to establish if companies also adhere to the standards of IFS Food in their everyday working life, we advise every certificate holder to undertake voluntary unannounced audits. The prerequisite is that the company is already certified to IFS Food. The unannounced audit takes place within a time window of four months, calculated from the beginning of the four-month period preceding the anniversary of the initial audit.

IFS Food was the first standard of the IFS certification series in the area of food, product and service. The objective is to ensure that certified companies manufacture a product which conforms to the customer requirements or provide a conformant service. Certified companies should also demonstrate continual improvement and work on optimisation of their processes. The IFS Standards and requirements are directed towards different members of the supply chain. They are valid internationally and are subject to a unified assessment system.

IFS is based on quality management standard EN ISO 9001. In addition, the standard contains the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) to assure the quality of the production processes and environment, and also Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP).

The IFS Food standard is the result of close cooperation with certification bodies, the wholesale and retail trade, the food industry and the catering sector. It is recognised by the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) for auditing of food manufacturing facilities. The emphasis of IFS Food is on food safety and quality of processes and products. IFS Food is therefore an effective instrument for the reduction of product recalls, food fraud and reputational damage.

For companies with several locations and central administration, the central administration is audited first. An audit is then carried out separately at each production site. The results of the audit of the central office are included in the audit report of the site, but a separate report and certificate are issued for each site.

IFS certification supports the work of the production and marketing departments in the areas of brand safety and quality. Numerous retailers and food producers require IFS certification as a prerequisite for delivery capability.