The International Featured Standard (IFS) Food is a leading globally recognised standard which certifies the safety and quality of processed food products and production processes. The latest version (V8) of the standard has been updated to reflect recent developments in the market and ensure IFS Food customers get the most out of their certification.
What do I need to know?
The main objectives of the review have been aligned with the last revision of Codex Alimentarius General Principles of Hygiene and the upcoming ISO 22003-2, the incorporation of IFS Doctrine rules within the IFS Food Standard and consideration of the stakeholders’ feedback from IFS Food V8. The terminology used in the standard has been harmonised. There are some changes in the certification protocol, such as the scoring system and new requirements introduced in the audit checklist.
Key changes include:
- In the scoring system, B becomes a deviation, so it is expected that the evidence of correction and the proposed corrective action is sent to the Certification Body within four weeks of receipt of the action plan. With this change, KO requirements can be scored as B, but not C anymore.
- New status called STAR is visible on the database and the certificate for companies that follow the unannounced audit option.
- Audit checklist reduced to 5 chapters (6 in Food v8) and 234 requirements (237 in Food v7), where five requirements are new, and eight are merged and/or deleted.
- Introduction of new requirements on validation and revalidation procedures, hand hygiene, chemical products management, environmental monitoring program and correction of deviations and non-conformities.
- Alignment with Codex Alimentarius (structure of the checklist and terminology) and vocabulary harmonisation and clarification.
How does IFS Food V8 benefit organisations?
IFS Food certification allows companies to show their customers, partners, and consumers their commitment to food safety and quality. IFS Food is also very focused on compliance with customers’ specifications, supporting trading relationships across the supply chain.
Periodic review and update process of the standard supports the continuous improvement system of the certified companies.