IFS Food
Basic information about IFS Food
IFS Food is an international food standard developed by representatives of German and French retailers in cooperation with retailers from other countries. IFS was developed for the purpose of evaluating suppliers of retail chains, so-called private label manufacturers, which are required by retail chains to meet the requirements according to the IFS standard. It applies only to areas of business where there is a risk of product contamination, i.e. food producers and companies that process and/or package food products.
The IFS Food standard does not apply to:
- importers and exporters,
- food transportation,
- warehousing and distribution.
Auditing for compliance with the IFS Food standard is carried out in accordance with a list of requirements included in 6 chapters:
- Management and Commitment;
- Quality and Food Safety Management System;
- Resource Management;
- Operational Processes;
- Measurement, Analysis, Improvement;
- Food Defense Plan.
For more information on the IFS Food standard, please visit the official website of the standard.
.All foodstuff manufacturers supplying retailers and wholesalers with commercial brands. The standard is applicable to the production of all foodstuffs, except for primary production.
.Having a certified system according to IFS Food is a requirement for supplying products to German and French international retail chains, among others.
Benefits of IFS Food certification:
- Opening the way to or strengthening cooperation with retail chains;
- Fulfillment of product safety and legality requirements in all areas of the company;
- Eliminating too many audits of food establishments;
- Confirmation of the implementation of HACCP and quality management systems;
- Provide continuous improvement by being able to observe all activities and make corrections of non-conformities;
- Reduce costs through systematic preventive actions;
- Improve competitiveness by obtaining confirmation of the production of safe, high-quality products;
- Increase the confidence of contractors, customers, suppliers and inspection bodies, for whom product safety and quality are of paramount importance.
1. Contacting the Processing Standards Department
The first step is to contact the staff of the Processing Standards Department in order to properly select a standard or system from our offer. For this purpose, please contact us by phone, email or fill out the contact form on Contact.
2. Filling out the application form
The application form is available for download on the right side of the page (under the heading "DOWNLOAD FILES"). Please send the completed form by email to an employee of our department. The information provided will allow us to prepare a suitable offer for you.
Application forms for other standards are available for download at: http://qasolutions.pl/pl/oferta.
3. Offer and signing of the contract
We present you with an individually prepared offer and the rules of cooperation with our unit. After signing the contract, we proceed with the certification process.
4. Scheduling the audit
Depending on your preference, the audit can be conducted in the form of announced or unannounced. The date of the announced audit is set in consultation with you, while in the case of an unannounced audit, we only inform you of the timeframe in which, according to the requirements of the standard, the audit should be conducted. The IFS Food standard requires at least one unannounced audit in a 3-year certification cycle.
5. Audit
Audits are conducted at the production facility with the required proportions of time spent on the production site audit and documentation evaluation.
6. Audit Report and Closure of Nonconformities
After the audit, you will receive a list of identified nonconformities with a deadline of up to 28 days from the date of the audit to close them and send the relevant evidence.
7. Certification Decision
All audit documentation is subject to technical review at the Certification Body, as a result of which a decision is made on the outcome of the certification process. In the case of a positive decision, a certificate is issued.