You are at: Home>Certification>Food sector - Certifications>IFS food safety

IFS certifications

To ensure the legality, safety and quality of products

*IFS Food News* In April 2023, the new update to the IFS Food standard (Version 8) was published, which can be used for audits starting in October. Its application is mandatory from January 2024.

This new revision arises from the need to adapt the standard to the Codex Alimentarius of 2020 and the upcoming ISO 22003-2, which impacts the food certification schemes that operate in accordance with ISO/IEC 17065, such as IFS Food. The review will also take into account comments from stakeholders regarding version 7.

In summary, in addition to adapting to Codex Alimentarius and the future ISO 22003-2, the changes to the new version include the following points:

Restructuring of some requirements to improve the audit monitoring method.
The scoring system recovers the letter B as a deviation.
Improved the wording of the requirements to make them clearer and more consistent.
The word "Audit" is brought back, instead of "Assessment".

The doctrine for groups of requirements is also reduced and new free IFS software is introduced to aid with audits and internal reports.

IFS – International Featured Standard

It is a private technical protocol developed by German, French and Italian distributors intended to help suppliers provide safe products in accordance with the specifications and the current legislation.

This protocol requires the prior implementation of a quality management system, an HACCP system based on the Codex Alimentarius, as well as the implementation and management of prerequisites and facilities. It includes all the requirements governing suppliers and conforms to international GFSI requirements, giving a clear vision of the concepts of food safety and quality control through assessments of suppliers, in which a complete view of their activity is provided.

Objectives:

To ensure the legality, safety and quality of manufactured products.
To establish a common standard with a common system of evaluation.
To ensure the supply of safe products, meeting their specifications and complying with legislation, leading to a reduction in costs and making the whole supply chain transparent.
To save costs and time for manufacturers and distributors.
To ensure transparency and rigour in certification systems.

Benefits:

It facilitates compliance with current legislation.
It reduces the costs of possible errors in any production line.
It provides organised communication with all interested parties.
It inspires confidence in consumers.
It improves documentation.
More efficient and dynamic monitoring of food safety hazards.
It adds Programmes of Prerequisites to the organisation's management system.
Time and cost saving, when audits are carried out jointly with other food safety schemes (HACCP, BRCGS).
To reconcile food safety and quality control.
It adapts the industry trends, such as Food Fraud, Food Defence and the implementation of a Food Safety Culture.

Because of the structure of the scheme and the extent to which it coincides with the requirements for food safety, it can be easily combined with the BRCGS Protocol and the UNE-EN-ISO 22000 standard (Food Safety Management Systems), an option allowing systems to be integrated and processes optimized accordingly, with the resulting savings in audit time and costs.

It can also be carried out together with the UNE IN-ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems).

AENOR now offers you the chance to obtain automatically, with the IFS Food or IFS PAC Secure certificates, the certificates for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and/or GMP based on the Codex Alimentarius. If the certificate is from IFS Logistics, you have the opportunity of receiving the HACCP certification directly. Find out about how to obtain the certificates.

Other related IFS certifications

More IFS certifications

IFS Logistic

The IFS Logistic standard is applicable to both foodstuffs and non-food products, such as: transportation, storage, distribution, loading and unloading wharves, etc. It can be applied to all types of logistics: freight sent by road, rail or sea, frozen or non-frozen products.

IFS Broker

The IFS Broker standard is applicable to brokers and/or importers of foodstuffs. This scheme verifies that these operators have introduced appropriate measures in their processes to inform their suppliers of safety and quality requirements for foodstuffs and have supervised compliance with these requirements, so that the products supplied fulfill both legal requirements and the specifications contracted.

IFS PACsecure

The IFS PACsecure standard is applicable to all type of establishments in which materials for food containers are manufactured and supplied (e.g. for example, plastic film for vegetables, drink cans, wrapping paper for flour, etc. and non-food (e.g. materials for containers that come into contact with the skin, such as cosmetics or other materials for products in the home, consumer goods, hardware, etc.)

IFS HPC

The IFS HPC standard is applicable to household products and personal care products that are designed to come into contact with the body; directly and/or indirectly (ex. cosmetic products, household cleaning products, products that come into contact with food and personal hygiene products). This includes all products for consumers and professional users.

This certification is perfectly integrable with other certification schemes and is possible to obtain immediately together with IFS Food or IFS PAC Secure certifications, the certificates of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and/or GMP based on the Codex Alimentarius. If the certificate is from IFS Logistics, you have the opportunity of receiving the HACCP certification directly. Find out about how to obtain the certificates.

IFS GLOBAL MARKET

The Global Market standard is a verification established at three basic levels (only applicable in countries where HACCP is not a legal requirement), Basic plus and Intermediate, being a very efficient tool for IFS certification to be achieved within three years. The Global Market Programme is currently available for Food, Logistics and HPC.

If you are also an exporter of agri-food products, you must know the Food Safety Modernization Act 2016 (FSMA), drawn up by the United States FDA, which seeks to improve food safety, particularly in foodstuffs imported from third countries. This law establishes the requirements for the export of agri-food products destined for the United States, while also facilitating companies' consolidation in the American market.

IFS ESG Check

IFS ESG Check allows companies to assess their situation with regard to sustainability, to identify risks and to plan their future commitment. It is a tool to guide sustainability issues and to integrate related fields such as environmental, social and good governance matters.

At AENOR we have long been concerned about sustainability in the food sector, from primary production to the processing industry. This allows us to have a suitable approach and experience in the sustainability aspects that the IFS ESG Check module offers us. This basic module focuses on assessing the company's management system and establishing the framework principles in relation to sustainability.

As an optional additional module, IFS ESG Check also allows companies to assess their carbon footprint management system and calculate their footprint, which is a growing demand in the market and a possible differentiating aspect.

Main advantages:

Simple and easy-to-use assessment tool, recognised by major distributors.
It facilitates legal compliance in environmental, social and governance aspects.
It starts the way to enter more complex sustainability systems.

Related sectors

It is addressed to companies supplying foodstuffs, under their own brand, in stages subsequent to primary production.

Integration with other systems

Due to the structure of the framework and the significant correlation of food safety requirements, it is easily integrated with the IFS (International Featured Standard) Protocol certification and the standard UNE IN-ISO 22000 (Food safety management systems), and the BRCGS standard allowing for the possibility of integrating the systems and optimising the processes with the resulting reduction in audit duration and costs.

Audits of UNE IN-ISO 9001 (Quality management systems).

AENOR now offers you the opportunity to obtain automatically with the IFS Food or IFS PAC Secure, the certificates of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and/or GMP based on the Codex Alimentarius. If the certificate is from IFS Logistics, you have the opportunity of receiving the HACCP certification directly. Find out about how to obtain the certificates.

Marks and certificates

When the audit has been satisfactorily completed, if the system being used conforms to the requirements of the protocol, the organisation obtains:

The AENOR IFS - International Featured Standard certification (or IFS-Logistic and IFS-broker, where applicable) on a Basic or Advanced level according to obtained scores.

IFS

Our experience

AENOR is recognized by distribution chains, having issued hundreds of IFS certificates. AENOR posee la acreditación ISO/IEC 17065:2012 de ENAC para los Protocolos IFS, según se indica en el anexo técnico de la web de ENAC, excepto: Consumer Products, Ethical Trade and Responsible Sourcing, Gluten Free, Retail, Start! and Wholesale/Cash & Carry.