The International Featured Standards has made public the new version of their standard for assessing food manufacturers (IFS Food version 7)

19/10/2020

    IFS Food is one of the certification schemes of reference for food safety and quality of the products and processes of food manufacturers. 

    The new versión offers clarity over what is expected from auditor over the course of an IFS evaluation. IFS has stated that this version also puts more focus on the on-site evaluation and less on the documents presented. The requirement list for the evaluation is aligned with the requirements of the comparative evaluation from GFSI version 2020.1, FSMA, and the UE regulations.


    Evaluations under the IFS version 7 scheme can be conducted starting March 1 2021. Its implementation will be mandatory for all certified companies starting July 1 2021. 


    According to the document published by IFS, the new version comes with the following changes:

    - Increased focus on the on-site assessment, less on documentation

    - New wording: the audit becomes an assessment, to highlight the product and process approach of IFS in keeping with ISO/IEC 17065.

    - 15 % less requirements

    - Improved structure of the certification protocol tailored to the IFS stakeholders’ needs

    - Better defined scoring system

    - Clearly structured assessment report with standardised sections 

    - Every third IFS certification assessment will be unannounced

    - Food Safety Culture has been incorporated into the requirements

    - The new definitions on outsourcing clarify different management modalities.

    - A valid GLN (Global Location Number) becomes mandatory for suppliers in the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom.

    - Additional tools to support quality managers of certified companies, e. g. new e-learning courses, updated IFS auditXpressXTM Software and IFS Audit Manager App for internal auditing

    Our experts at the Technical Department of Applus+ Certification – Food & Agriculture will be available to answer your queries about the certification process under the IFS Food scheme and the changes that the new version will bring in 2021. We are also organizing workshops that you’ll be able to sign up for with our Sales Department: 

    • Mario Magallón – mario.magallon@applus.com – 618112640 (Zona Este y Norte)
    • Carmen Rodriguez – carmen.rodriguez@applus.com – 669301268 (Zona Sur y Canarias)

    You can also access all the information pubished by IFS at this link

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