• You are here:
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recent blog posts

IFS Blog

IFS Editorial Team

The Importance and Value of Internal Audits

The Importance and Value of Internal Audits
All companies certified under IFS Standards are required to conduct effective internal audits. To some, the internal audit may seem time-consuming and redundant. When done correctly, however, they are a powerful tool to measure the effectiveness of the quality and safety systems as well as a mechanism for engaging workers. The internal audit covers...
Continue reading
Tags:
audit internalaudit checklist
Stephan Tromp

Introducing our latest digital tool, the IFS WordCloud

- by Stephan Tromp - Risk Monitoring – from faxes to digital solutions At the end of the nineties, I was General Manager of the Federal Association of German Fish Wholesalers and the Association for Food Wholesale and Retail in the German federal states Berlin and Brandenburg. At that time, we received EU food safety alerts by fax. Today, this feel...
Continue reading
Tags:
digital innovation uptodate riskmanagement
IFS Editorial Team

First IFS Global Markets Food assessment in Poland

planning-and-production-proces
IFS Global Markets Food is an assessment that supports small and/or developing companies in establishing a resilient Product Safety management system. By following the "global markets" path, small companies can also make the first steps towards the implementation of the requirements of the IFS Food Standard.  Batus Polska Sp. zo. o. decided to...
Continue reading
IFS Editorial Team

PACKAGING MATERIALS AN IMPORTANT LINK IN THE FOOD SAFETY SUPPLY CHAIN

tincans_pinapple_small
written by CHERYL SULLIVAN While food processors and retailers understand the necessity to practice food safety in their operations, few have demanded that their packaging suppliers exercise the same due diligence. Today, with more and more emphasis on product safety, transparency, and traceability throughout the entire supply chain, companies...
Continue reading
IFS Editorial Team

The added value of unannounced audits

The added value of unannounced audits
Food retailers and suppliers increasingly ask their suppliers for unannounced audits. The GFSI has included this option in their benchmarking requirements, so that every GFSI recognized standard has to offer this option. IFS introduced the unannounced audits in version 6.0 of the IFS Food Standard in 2016. We know now, that this option has some rea...
Continue reading
Tags:
Food Safety unannounced training foodsafetycheck audit
IFS Editorial Team

Most Seen Deviations in Packaging Audits

The requirements of IFS PACsecure are designed to examine the processes of all types of packaging manufacturing. Looking at the bigger picture of the audits performed, whether in plastic, paper, metal, or glass manufacturing, certain patterns become apparent. Some requirements are frequently rated with deviations.  For example, the requirement...
Continue reading
IFS Editorial Team

AuditOne Introduces two New Packaging Standards

AuditOne Introduces two New Packaging Standards
IFS PACsecure + AuditOne Supplemental Modules for Packaging and OTC/Rx Denver, CO – June 4, 2019 – AuditOne, delivering industry compliance transformation via a streamlined audit process that benefits the entire supply chain, is pleased to announce the launch of the IFS PACsecure-ASMs. IFS PACsecure is an international packaging standard jointly ow...
Continue reading
IFS Editorial Team

The Value of Food Safety Standardization in a Company Environment

by Ed Hughes, International Paper  This article submitted by Ed Hughes, Testing Labs and Product Safety and Compliance Manager, of International Paper. International Paper implements IFS PACsecure as their GFSI standard of choice. ​ Making the leap in the packaging industry from standard GMP audits to a GFSI recognized certification can be a r...
Continue reading
Tags:
PACsecure testimonial packaging
IFS Editorial Team

IFS Focus Day – Vancouver, B.C. Canada – April 24, 2019

Speaker_20190503-152735_1
IFS hosted an informative program for attendees from the food and packaging industries. Pius Gasser, IFS North American Technical Representative kicked off the day with why IFS is a good choice for companies seeking certification. He presented a brief overview of IFS Global Market programs and the IFS Food, Logistics, Broker, and household and pers...
Continue reading
IFS Editorial Team

IFS FOCUS DAY FOR LOGISTICS AND PACKAGING IN THE USA

IFS FOCUS DAY FOR LOGISTICS AND PACKAGING IN THE USA
The first IFS Focus Day of the New Year took place on January 11th in Chicago, USA where food safety professionals joined us at the headquarters of US Foods.  IFS Managing Director, Stephan Tromp, and the IFS representative for North America, Pius Gasser, informed participants about the latest news and developments of our IFS Logistics and PAC...
Continue reading
IFS Editorial Team

100 % IFS PACsecure: Color Ad and Color Ad’s IFS PACsecure Journey

100 % IFS PACsecure: Color Ad and Color Ad’s IFS PACsecure Journey
We marketed ourselves as IFS PACsecure-certified. We realized that consistently maintaining this standard was extremely important. by Tony Christian, Compliance and Quality Manager, Color Ad Packaging IFS PACsecure and GFSI were foreign to us in 2014 when we started looking into advanced Food Safety programs and Quality programs to help u...
Continue reading
Tags:
PACsecure testimonial packaging Canada
IFS Editorial Team

IFS PACsecure Testimonial - Boxmaster

IFS PACsecure Testimonial - Boxmaster
The integration of the IFS PACsecure Standard and practices has contributed to BOXmaster providing something unique in our market by Greg Reid, General Manager BOXmaster In the packaging industry, BOXmaster seeks to stay on top of what is an evolving landscape. As a company built on service and quality, our goal was to take these standards to the n...
Continue reading
Tags:
testimonial quality packaging
IFS Editorial Team

Lessons learned so far from implementing a food blockchain project - by Leontien Hasselman-Plugge, CEO at SIM – Supply Chain Information Management

Lessons learned so far from implementing a food blockchain project - by Leontien Hasselman-Plugge, CEO at SIM – Supply Chain Information Management
"Blockchain is a revolutionary technology; it will change everything." by Leontien Hasselman-Plugge, CEO photo by SIM It seems nowadays that implementing a blockchain is the next best thing since sliced bread and will solve all issues in the food industry. The economist named blockchain the "trust machine" and blockchain pilots in the food ind...
Continue reading
Tags:
Food Safety blockchain technology supplychain
IFS Editorial Team

IFS HPC – the IFS non-food Standard for household and personal care products

IFS HPC – the IFS non-food Standard for household and personal care products
Since 2003 the IFS is well known for the IFS Food Standard. Since then the umbrella brand of IFS has increased with more than 6 Standards and 3 Programs which cover a huge part of the retail supply chain. One of these IFS Standards is the IFS HPC, the Standard developed to assure the quality and product safety of household and personal care product...
Continue reading
Tags:
HPC Assessors China non-food Global Markets
IFS Editorial Team

Testimonial: Assessment and Selection of GFSI Packaging Standard

Testimonial: Assessment and Selection of GFSI Packaging Standard
The daunting challenge for many of our colleagues in the food supply chain is selecting the right GFSI Standard. A few quotes……. ​ ​ ​ ​ "The bloody supermarket said I had to have BRC"; "Our customer told us to be 3rd party certified to SQF";  "Our consultant recommended IFS PACSecure for it has templates for glass, metal, corrugate and plasti...
Continue reading
Tags:
testimonial
IFS Editorial Team

Introducing IFS Global Markets - HPC

Introducing IFS Global Markets - HPC
If you work for a small or medium sized company producing household and personal care products and you're interested in establishing a reliable quality management system, then you should learn more about our IFS Global Markets - HPC Program. You may also be interested in attending our webinar on this subject. Many people know IFS as a food standard...
Continue reading
Tags:
IFS HPC IFS GM HPC IFS International Featured Standards IFS Tools
Esther Tromp

The IFS – Pioneers of digitalization in quality management

The IFS – Pioneers of digitalization in quality management
At the GFSI conference in Tokyo the IFS Trend Risk Monitor was announced. The Pro and Cloud versions of the IFS Audit Manager App were recently released. IFS was the first GFSI scheme owner to develop an app supporting internal audit processes. Right from the start, the IFS has developed several digital tools in order to support the work of the qua...
Continue reading
Tags:
IFS Tools IFS App IFS Audit Manager IFS Trend Risk Monitor digital
IFS Editorial Team

Testimonial: Benefit from an IFS PACsecure certification

Testimonial: Benefit from an IFS PACsecure certification
Associated Labels and Packaging is proud to announce our successful acquirement of the International Featured Standards (IFS) PACsecure Certification. In other words, our company has become "food safe" in the most vigorous global standard one can achieve. What does this mean? ​ In a nutshell, our facility produces labels and packaging which ensure ...
Continue reading
Tags:
PACsecure testimonial
IFS Editorial Team

IFS Development

IFS Development
Most people with no educational background in food or quality management might not know the IFS and IFS Standards. Therefore we would like to use this chance to explain why the IFS was developed and why uniform standards are so important for all parties along the supply chain. IFS is the short form for: International Featured Standards owned by the...
Continue reading
Tags:
IFS International Featured Standards FCD
Anne Kathrin Gönner

IFS@GFSI

Unbenannt
Tokyo 2018: GFSI Conference in Japan - the country of technological advance Taking this image as the theme, the IFS Team decided to focus on the different digital IFS Tools this year. Together with Nevin Rühle, Bruno Séchet, and Stephan Tromp, I had the pleasure to participate in one of the most important conferences for the food industry: The annu...
Continue reading
Tags:
IFS Tools IFS App IFS Audit Manager IFS Trend Risk Monitor
Kevin Borchers

A lot more than just the Food Standard- A student’s impressions of the IFS

A lot more than just the Food Standard- A student’s impressions of the IFS
Hello, my name is Kevin Borchers and I am working as a student assistant for the IFS since May 2017. My key task is the support of the IFS Academy in the creation of online training courses for auditors, quality manager and consultants. I enjoy my work for the IFS, because I have the chance to work together with many competent experts who all work ...
Continue reading
Tags:
IFS Academy IFS International Featured Standards ISO 22000
Sandra Schulte

Four letters and a big question mark – How I got in touch with FSMA

Four letters and a big question mark – How I got in touch with FSMA
Four letters that pack a punch: The „ F ood S afety M odernisation A ct" – It is complex, but it is actually no rocket science – and let me explain you why: The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is indeed the most sweeping reform of US-food safety laws in more than 70 years, which was signed into law by former President Obama on January 4, 2...
Continue reading
Tags:
HACCP FSMA
IFS Editorial Team

No more clipboards – IFS App simplifies your internal audit

No more clipboards – IFS App simplifies your internal audit
It is the year 2018 and the digital age is widespread in all areas of life. Meanwhile, quality managers still perform their internal audits with pen, clipboard and camera? Not with IFS. IFS wants to contribute to an easy daily procedure – and forward digitalization. That's why the app "IFS Audit Manager" was developed. The app IFS Audit Manager pus...
Continue reading
Tags:
IFS International Featured Standards IFS Tools IFS App IFS Audit Manager
back
up

News

  • 03 June 2020
    Polish National Working Group

    We are pleased to share that the first meeting of the new established Polish National Working Group took place today. We thank all...

  • 20 May 2020
    New digital IFS tools now online

    IFS Trend Risk Monitor and the IFS WordCloud: these two new IFS tools offer a comprehensive overview of relevant data to support quality...

  • 04 May 2020
    IFS GMP Check now available

    IFS has now launched the Guidance for the new GMP Check which can be downloaded in several languages via our website. Uploading the GMP...

  • 31 March 2020
    IFS Remote Surveillance Check now available

    IFS has launched the Guideline for the new IFS Remote Surveillance Check which can be downloaded here. IFS offers this IFS Remote Surveillance Check...

IFS App

IFS App- IFS Audit Manager: Plan and do your internal audit with the IFS app. Download the basic version for free and start auditing!

IFS UP TO DATE

Newsletter: Stay informed about IFS Standards, events and our course offer with the monthly IFS newsletter.

Register here! Unsubscribe