IFS Food Standard

In 2002, the German Retail Federation (HDE) and the French Fédération des Entreprises du Commerce et de la Distribution (FCD) introduced an international food safety and quality standard, the International Food Standard.

The IFS Food Standard reviews the products and production processes to evaluate a food producer’s ability to produce safe, authentic, and quality products according to legal requirements and customer specifications. It supports businesses in meeting the growing transparency and traceability demands in the market and contributes to improving product integrity and increasing efficiency. IFS qualified auditors working for independent accredited certification bodies carry out the audits.

Benefits of IFS Food certification

IFS Certification offers several key benefits for food companies striving for excellence in quality, product, safety, and customer satisfaction and those seeking a competitive advantage in their marketplace.

•  The system drives continuous improvement:

The scoring and audit report indicate how a business can progress and reach the next level in food safety and quality assurance.

• The IFS risk-based approach enables individual risk assessments and creates a focus on the areas of importance to the unique company processes.

• The non-prescriptive approach allows custom-made solutions and enables companies to determine hazard control methods that are best suited to their unique conditions.
•  IFS Certification grows sales: Certified companies retain existing customers and gain new ones with IFS. The certificate shows that they are a trustworthy business partner.
•  The requirements reduce operating costs and increase efficiency: Certified companies see processes improve and costs related to waste, recalls, complaints or rejected products reduce.

With the professional expertise of retailers, manufacturers, certification bodies and other experts worldwide, IFS develops globally recognized product quality and safety standards and development programs. To complement this, IFS offers supportive tools and guidance documents to help quality managers work more efficiently. The common goal of IFS is to strive for the best product safety and quality management system so that consumers can trust the products they buy.
Source: IFS Certification