IFS Food Standard

1. Introduction
2. Overview
3. Global adoption
4. Benefits
5. Auditing
6. Choosing a registrar
7. Route to registration
8. Costs
9. Contributing editor

The IFS – International Featured Standards are product certification standards where certification bodies are accredited to carry out activities in compliance with requirements of EN 45011 / ISO IEC Guide 65; ISO/IEC 17021:2006. 

• The Food Standard for example is a quality and food safety standard applying to all post farm gate stages of food processing. 
• The Logistics Standard is applicable to all types of transport – truck, train, ship, plane or any other transportation, temperature controlled or ambient, both food and non-food products and includes all logistics activities including loading, transportation, off loading, storage, handling and further distribution. 
• The Broker Standard* concerns how Brokers select their suppliers, what quality requirements they have implemented and that they are able to fulfil legal requirements such as full traceability. 
• The IFS Cash and Carry / Wholesale Standard* concerns the application of IFS Food in the Wholesale Trade. 
• The HPC Household and Personal Care Standard* is a standard for auditing quality and safety of retailer and wholesaler branded household and personal care products.  There are four product scopes within the standard: Cosmetic products- Personal care products - skin contact; Household chemical products; Housekeeping products – food contact; Products for personal hygiene - skin contact.

All the standards have been developed by the German (HDE), French (FCD) and Italian (ANCC, ANCD) retail federations in conjunction with manufactures, certification bodies and other users of the standards.  The Standards relate to product safety, legality and quality management systems and are designed to help organisations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders. The standards are published by IFS through HDE Trade Services Gmbh, Berlin, Germany.

Independent confirmation that organisations meet the requirements of the IFS Standards may be obtained from third party certification bodies. Currently over 11,000 organisations worldwide are independently certified to the IFS Foods; 800 to Logistics; 120 Broker; 104 Cash and Carry / Wholesale.

All the IFS Standards specify the basic requirements for a quality management system (QMS) that an organisation must fulfil to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products (which can include services) that enhance customer satisfaction and meet applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

The IFS family of standards represents an international consensus on good quality management practices in food, cosmetics, household and consumer product manufacturing, the transportation of goods, the trading of goods and the retailing through cash and carry and wholesale outlets. The Standards and supporting Doctrines relate to product and quality management systems.  The IFS Broker is a Standard for auditing Brokers who select suppliers for retailer and wholesaler branded food and non-food products.  The IFS Broker can only be used when the company has trading activities.  If there is any production IFS Food or IFS HPC is applicable. If a Broker runs transport, storage and distribution activities then the IFS Logistics Standard applies.  For the Food Standard IFS has also developed an additional Food Defence set of requirements especially for the US market. The additional 14 requirements include security assessment, site security, personal and visitor security and external inspections. With the additional Food Defence requirements food manufacturers can demonstrate that they have taken all necessary measures to protect their production facilities from potential malicious product contamination or sabotage.

IFS Food Standard – The Food Standard applies to all post farm gate stages of food processing from the simplest traditional produce supplier to the most sophisticated state-of-the-art complex multi process food production factory.  The IFS Food is a Standard for auditing retailer and wholesaler branded food product suppliers and only concerns food processing companies or companies that pack loose food products. The IFS Food can only be used when a product is “processed” or when there is a hazard for product contamination during the primary packing.

IFS Logistics Standard – The IFS Logistics Standard applies if a company runs transport, storage or distribution activities.  The IFS Logistics is a standard for auditing all logistics activities for food and non-food products, such as transport, storage, distribution, loading/ unloading, etc. It applies to all types of activities: delivery by road, rail or ship; frozen/refrigerated products or without cooling. The IFS Logistics concerns logistics activities, where companies have a physical contact with already primary packed products (transport, packaging of pre-packed food products, storage and/or distribution, transport and storage of pallets, bags in box). The IFS Logistic also concerns bulk products, for example oil, corn, etc, or if the product is loose, but there is neither processing activity nor primary packing activity. When a food processing company has its own logistic and/or transport department/activities (storage and distribution), it is included in the IFS Food, under the specific chapter about transport or storage. If the logistic and/or transport activities are outsourced, the IFS Logistic Standard applies.

IFS Broker Standard - The IFS Broker is a Standard for auditing Brokers who select suppliers for retailer and wholesaler branded food and non-food products.  Brokers and importers play an important role in the value chain since they have a strong influence on the supply chain through their choice of suppliers. Trading partners expect brokers and importers to communicate their product requirements to manufacturers and that these will be understood and implemented. For this reason IFS has developed the IFS Broker Standard for brokers and importers in order to examine how these processes are implemented. The IFS Broker can only be used when the company has trading activities.  The Standard checks to see whether brokers / importers have implemented appropriate measures in their processes to ensure that their suppliers operate in accordance with food safety and quality requirements and to monitor compliance that the products supplied meet legal requirements and contractual specifications.

The IFS HPC Standard - The new IFS HPC includes four different products scopes:

• Cosmetic products - Personal care products - skin contact: This includes all the products described in the Cosmetics legislation (e.g. shampoo, toothpaste, washable temporary tattoos, cosmetic wipes, make up for dolls or children, skin patches, etc.)
• Household chemical products: Cleaning and polishing products, impregnated products intended for household and car activities, detergents, all products intended for cleaning activities, liquid or wipes, window cleaners, etc. It also includes specific cleaning products e.g. products for swimming pools, air freshener sprays or aerosols, candles, insecticide products.
• Housekeeping products - food contact: Materials and articles described in the Regulation (EC) N° 1935/2004, which are intended to come into contact with food (e.g. plastic and carton cups/forks/plates, aluminium foils, products for “daily use”, sponges, dustbin plastic bags, etc.
• Products for personal hygiene - skin contact:  Products or materials that are intended for human body care, except cosmetic products (e.g. hair brushes, shavers, tissues, some medical devices class 1, nappies, feminine hygiene, wigs, artificial lashes, artificial nails, jewellery, etc.). Product or materials that are intended to come into contact with the inside of the mouth (e.g. toothbrush, adhesive toothpaste, dental floss, dental wood/plastic sticks, etc.)

The standard excludes the following products: Medicines, products for oral consumption, toys, motor lubricants, textiles, food products: vitamins and food supplements, multi-use utensils (ceramics (plates), stainless steel forks and knives, etc), packaging materials, medical devices, electronic devices, medical devices such as blister plasters, condoms, etc.

The IFS Food Standard commenced in 2003 and now with Version 6 being drafted involves 67 Certification Bodies, more than 800 auditors, 350 retailers, more than 20 languages in over 90 countries worldwide. Some of the same Certification Bodies are also involved in the 800 Logistics (June 2006), 120 Broker (December 2009), 104 Cash and Carry / Wholesale (November 2009) and HPC (2010) certificates that have been issued.

• Common standards have been implemented with uniform evaluation systems.
• Cost savings for suppliers, retailers and other users of the Standards.
• Audits are undertaken by qualified auditors working for accredited certification bodies.
• Comparability and transparency throughout supply chains.

To become certified to these standards auditing by an external third party certification body is necessary to independently evaluate a company against all the requirements of a particular standard.  All auditors are only approved by IFS to audit scopes within their experience and training.

A company also has as part of all the Standards an obligation to undertake internal audits using trained staff or external resources to verify that the systems are working as intended, and to identify opportunities for improvement. It is a requirement for internal auditors to be independent audit outside their usual management line, so as to bring a degree of independence to their judgements.

There are over 67 certification bodies globally operating IFS Standards. It is important to select an approved certification body and to ensure they comply with the following criteria:

• Ensure the company is accredited to ISO/IEC 17021:2006, and the certification body accreditation is issued by a recognised competent body such as UKAS in the United Kingdom.
• Ensure the certification body is recognised by your customers and they relevant sector experience for your industry sector

Initial Audit

An initial audit is a company’s first audit to the IFS. The initial audit is undertaken at a time and date agreed between the company and the selected CB.  During this audit the entire company is audited including documentation and processes.  During the audit all criteria of the IFS requirements shall be assessed.

Renewal Audit

Renewal audits are those which are performed after the initial audit before the next audit due date.  A renewal audit involves the complete auditing of a company, resulting in the issue of an updated certificate.  During the audit all criteria of the IFS requirements shall be assessed.

Follow Up Audit

A follow up audit is required in a specific situation when the results of an initial or renewal audit have been insufficient to allow the award of a certificate.  The focus of this audit is on the corrective actions taken to overcome non conformities identified in the previous audit.

Certificate Issue

A certificate can be issued by the Certification Body after an independent Certification Manager has reviewed the auditor’s report, the corrective action plan, evidence of corrective action and any other relevant information.  Your certificate will arrive soon after the certification decision has been made.

Continued Assessment

After your certification an auditor will visit your organisation annually to ensure that your management systems continue to meet the requirements of the relevant IFS Standard in full.

Certification Costs

Costs of certification audits are dependent on the size and complexity of your organisation. All Certification Bodies charge for a complete audit and certification decision based on a certain rate per day to be on-site at your facility. This day rate will vary depending on your country, the typical day rate in the United Kingdom is approximately £1,000 per auditor day depending on the certification body. Small companies with less than 20 staff could expect one auditor on site for 1-2 days; very large companies can expect several auditors on site for up to up to 5 days.  An additional fee will be included in the total costs for report writing.

Clive Manvell

Clive Manvell has been involved in the food industry throughout his professional career.  Commencing with Lyons Bakery and then joining Metal Box R&D where he spent 20 years leading research teams involved in food processing and packaging projects including retort pouches and Ohmic processing. Following that he joined the food process equipment manufacturer APV before becoming R&D Manager for Kerry Ingredients, manufacturing fruit based and confectionery bakery and food service ingredients.  Working after that as an independent technical consultant Clive became involved with enabling food companies to achieve and maintain food certification. With a wide background in food processing and packaging Clive has also been involved with accreditation of certification bodies, having been contracted by UKAS and INAB national accreditation bodies as a Technical Expert Assessor.  Clive now uses this wide experience as Technical Manager for NSF-CMi Certification, a company with an international reputation involved in certifying over 75,000 clients in 70 countries using highly trained and experienced auditors in every sector.

NSF-CMi is the specialist food assurance division of NSF International, the leading supplier of food assurance and certification services throughout the supply chain.  NSF CMi certifies companies for BRC, IFS, ISO 22000, GlobalGAP, Red Tractor and Tesco Nurture.