IFS Standards
IFS Standards are uniform food, product and service standards. They ensure that IFS-certified companies produce a product or provide a service that complies with customer specifications, while continually working on process improvements
Customer Specifications Compliance & Process Improvements
Facility Security Requirements
In placing their own retail brands on the market, food retailers run a higher risk of liability for these products. In order to safeguard themselves they require the manufacturers to provide evidence of the safety, quality, and legality of their products, based on the International Food Standard IFS, which was created for just this purpose. The members of the retail associations in Germany (HDE), France (FCD), and Italy (FEDERDISTRIBUZIONE) mutually recognize assessment results and certificates, and no longer conduct any supplier audits of their own.
IFS – For whom?
First and foremost the standard addresses manufacturers of retailer branded products, as well as producers of proprietary brands that have been requested by food retailers to undergo such an assessment. Organizations throughout the food value chain take advantage of IFS to demonstrate their own activities in respect of food safety, food quality, and food legality.
Benefits
- Suitable instrument of control for the fulfillment of requirements
- Improved confidence of consumers and retailers in the organization’s ability to perform Systematic analysis and implementation of safe and efficient processes in the interest of food safety
- Evidence that due diligence is used in respect of product safety, quality, and legality
- Less risk of product liability through demonstrated fulfillment of product safety obligations
- Mutual recognition of certificates
IFS Household & Personal Care
Increase product safety and hygiene with IFS HPC, the IFS standard for household and personal care products.
The IFS Standard for household and personal care products, originally published in 2009, has been developed in collaboration with numerous European retailers and trade associations. The standard provides a framework to assess manufacturers and suppliers in terms of product safety and hygiene. Companies involved in the packaging of loose products can also benefit from the standard.
During the certification process, a qualified DQS auditor verifies whether the different components of the quality- and risk management system have been implemented and documented. IFS HPC focuses upon the production process, resource management and risk management.
The standard is particularly popular among European retailers. A second issue of the standard was published in 2016.
Benefits for your organization
- Stabilization of customer confidence
- Stabilization of trading companies in product safety, -quality and -legality
- Higher product security
- Lower product liability risks
- Systematic analysis, implementation of safe and more efficient process cycles in the sense of product security and steering of processes
- Timely notice of consumer risks concerning hygiene and security of consumer goods. Definition of appropriate preventive measures
IFS Logistics
IFS Logistic closes the gap between the production and retail levels, thus ensuring transparency and quality assurance throughout the entire chain of food supply. The standard is suitable for both food and non-food products, and encompasses all logistic activities such as: transport, storage, distribution, loading/unloading, etc.
The IFS Logistic was drawn up by German and French retailers, working in collaboration with other international retailers and experts. The standard, which was specifically created to fulfil this business sector’s requirements, focuses strongly on systematic and comprehensive hygiene and risk management, stock management (first in/first out), temperature control, and traceability.
IFS Logistic – For whom?
The IFS Logistic is applicable to all organizations within the transportation and logistics sector, to warehouses and third-party merchants with forwarding and storage activities of their own. The requirements apply to organizations providing all types of logistic services, regardless of temperature (frozen, refrigerated, or without cooling) or means of transport (by road, rail, ship, etc.).
More and more retailers, producers of retailer-branded goods, and warehouse clients require their logistic service providers to be certified to IFS Logistic. Organizations with their own logistics department need to fulfil the requirements of the International Food Standard IFS
Benefits
- Improved quality and safety throughout the entire chain of supply; from production to forwarding, warehousing, and delivery to the retail customers
- Evidence of systematic hygiene and risk management in warehousing and transport
- Ensure good hygiene practice, continuous traceability, and optimal handling of all goods in stock
IFS Global Market
The IFS Global Markets – Food is a standardized food safety assessment program for retailers as well as industry branded food products. The program is meant to support “small and/or less developed businesses” in the development of their food safety management systems and making the first step towards the implementation of the IFS Food Standard.
IFS PACsecure
IFS PACsecure is a quality standard that applies to all forms of primary and secondary packaging materials.
The objectives of the IFS PACsecure are to provide food safety for packaging materials guidelines and to establish a common standard with a uniform evaluation system. DQS CFS is an accredited certification body for IFS PACsecure and has qualified auditors across the globe.
The IFS PACsecure standard covers both flexible and rigid plastics, paper, metal, glass, and other packaging materials.
Benefits
- Improved confidence of consumers and retailers
- Evidence that due diligence is used in respect of product safety, quality, and legality
- Less risk of product liability through demonstrated fulfillment of product safety obligations
- Internationally recognized certificates
