Introduction to IFS Food Standards

A mid-sized sauce producer wins a contract to supply a European retailer, then reads the small print: supply is conditional on IFS Food certification within an agreed period. Managers who have run a safe factory for years suddenly need to translate good practice into a system an external auditor can score. Starting IFS work begins with understanding what kind of standard it is, who demands it, and what an audit will actually test.

IFS Food is a private standard owned by IFS Management GmbH. German association HDE and French association FCD created IFS to give retailers one shared way to audit food suppliers. Today IFS Food is benchmarked by the Global Food Safety Initiative, so it sits alongside other recognised schemes such as BRCGS and FSSC 22000. Version 8, published in 2023, is the current version under which sites are audited.

Who IFS Food applies to

Sites that process food, pack primary products, or handle food where there is a risk of contamination during primary packing are the typical audience. Your exact scope — products, processes, and exclusions — is agreed with a certification body before the audit. Scope wording matters because it appears on the certificate your customers read.

Companies pursue IFS for a practical reason: market access. Certification can also sharpen internal control, reduce customer-specific audits, and give management an independent view of risk. It does not replace food law. Legal compliance is a precondition, and an auditor who finds illegal product or practice will raise it, whatever your documentation says.

What auditors examine

An IFS audit is a site audit, not a desk review of a manual. Auditors spend much of their time in production, storage, and dispatch areas, watching work, asking staff questions, and sampling records. Under the current version, requirements are grouped around governance and management commitment, the food safety and quality management system, resource management, operational processes, measurement, analysis and improvement, and food defence.

Within those groups you will meet familiar topics:

  • HACCP and hazard and risk management
  • Specifications, product development, and purchasing
  • Factory environment, cleaning, foreign body control, and pest management
  • Production control, allergen management, and traceability
  • Calibration, product analysis, complaint handling, and recall management
  • Training, personal hygiene, and staff facilities

Expect sampling, not total coverage. An auditor who finds one lapse will sample wider to decide whether it is isolated or systemic. Clean, consistent evidence across shifts and dates therefore counts more than a perfect file prepared for audit week.

Grades, levels, and knock-out requirements

Each applicable requirement receives a grade from A for full compliance down to D for non-implementation, with B and C in between, or a not-applicable marking where justified. Grades convert to points and a percentage score. Passing sites are awarded Foundation level or, at around 75 percent and above, Higher level. Buyers often prefer Higher level and may set it as a condition in supply agreements.

Some requirements are designated KO, meaning knock-out. Score a D on a KO requirement and the audit fails outright, even if the percentage looks healthy. KO topics cover essentials such as management responsibility, critical control point monitoring, traceability, internal audits, and corrective action. Learn which requirements carry KO status under the current version early, and give them priority in your preparation and your daily checks.

Choosing a certification body

Only approved certification bodies can carry out IFS audits, using auditors approved for your product and technology scopes. Ask about auditor scope, lead times, unannounced audit options, and reporting timelines before you sign. Price matters, but an audit by a body your main customer distrusts creates problems money cannot fix quickly.

First steps toward certification

Start with a gap analysis: compare your present system, requirement by requirement, against the standard, and grade yourself honestly. Follow that with a prioritised plan covering quick documentation fixes, longer capital work, training needs, and evidence that must be built over weeks, such as monitoring records, internal audit reports, and a management review.

Avoid writing procedures nobody follows just to fill gaps. Write what you will do, train people to do it, then let records accumulate naturally. A short history of genuine records beats a long history created retrospectively, which experienced auditors detect easily from inconsistencies, identical handwriting across dates, and staff who cannot explain entries in their own names.

Timescales and costs should be discussed openly before you commit. Audit duration depends on site size, staff numbers, product risk, and scope complexity, and certification bodies calculate it under IFS rules. Beyond audit fees, budget for staff time, training, possible building or equipment work, laboratory testing, and consultancy if you choose to use it. A realistic internal estimate prevents the programme stalling halfway when an unexpected cost appears. Equally, do not let cost pressure shrink scope dishonestly by excluding a tricky product or area that your customer expects to be covered; a certificate with the wrong scope can be worse than a delayed certificate with the right one.

Key points

  • IFS Food is a retailer-driven, GFSI-benchmarked standard owned by IFS Management GmbH; version 8 is current.
  • Typical candidates process or pack food for customers, especially European retailers, who require certification for market access.
  • Audits test practice on the floor, staff knowledge, and records across management, operations, and food defence.
  • Grades A to D produce a percentage; around 75 percent or more gives Higher level, and a D on a KO requirement fails the audit.
  • Begin with an honest gap analysis, prioritise KO areas, and build genuine evidence over time.
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