Published Date 28 May 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 experts from retail, manufacturers and certification bodies in Poland for their participation and engagement in this group. Their knowledge combined with a Polish point of view will make a valuable contribution to the further development of our standards, development programmes and tools. Like the established national working groups in France, Germany, Italy and Spain the Polish group will work closely with the International Technical Committee. In our various working groups and committees, stakeholders have the opportunity to participate in IFS and help shape its progress. We work together to deliver safe and trusted products!

Published Date 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 assurance managers in effectively identifying possible risks in their supply chains. Quality managers face daily challenges of having to constantly monitor and evaluate all risks associated with both raw materials and events occurring in the upstream supply chain. In order to support and facilitate this monitoring process, IFS has created the IFS Trend Risk Monitor and the IFS WordCloud. These news tools have been exclusively developed for registered IFS users, particularly for quality managers and IFS recognized consultants. The new dashboard for modern risk management uses artificial intelligence to collect and sort food safety alerts and therefore offers a comprehensive overview of all relevant data, so that managing risks in the upstream supply chain becomes more effective.

Learn more about the IFS Trend Risk Monitor and the IFS WordCloud

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Published Date 30 April 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 Check will be possible as of end of May. The GMP Check is a voluntary one day, unannounced check by an IFS Auditor on-site. The GMP Check is a supportive and time effective tool for verifying good manufacturing practices on-site once Covid-19 related restrictions are lifted whilst pressure on auditor capacities rises. Having a GMP Check successfully performed on-site will not only show compliance with hygiene and food/product safety requirements to retailers and wholesalers, but reinforces trust in business relationships during these extraordinary times. Please note that the GMP Check is a stand-alone solution, not accredited and has been specifically developed for the Covid-19 crisis only.

Português do Brasil

A IFS lançou agora o Guideline para o novo GMP Check, que pode ser baixado em vários idiomas através do nosso site. O Upload do GMP Check será possível a partir do final de Maio. O GMP Check é um check in loco voluntário de um dia, sem aviso prévio por um Auditor IFS. O GMP Check é uma ferramenta de apoio e tempo eficiente para verificação de boas práticas de fabricação in loco uma vez que as restrições relacionadas à Covid-19 são levantadas enquanto a pressão sobre a disponibilidade do auditor aumenta. Ter um GMP Check realizado com sucesso in loco não só mostrará conformidade com os requisitos de higiene e segurança de alimentos/produtos para varejistas e atacadistas, mas reforçará a confiança nas relações comerciais durante esses tempos extraordinários. Nota-se que o GMP Check é uma solução independente, não acreditada e desenvolvida especificamente apenas para a crise do Covid-19.

Published Date 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 to see how company control current risks within their supporting management processes. This is optional and can be used to provide trust into the supply chain and to support risk management processes of business partners. The IFS Remote Surveillance Check is a stand-alone solution that is especially developed for this crisis situation. It is voluntary, not accredited and its result cannot be taken into account for present and/or future IFS Certification audits and IFS Global markets assessments.

Please click here for more information

Published Date 21 February 2020

IFS certified to ISO/EIC 27001:2013 standard

We are proud to announce that IFS Management GmbH is certified to ISO/EIC 27001:2013 standard! “IFS takes data protection and the management of sensitive data very seriously, especially as we are handling more than 25,000 audit reports, data from auditees, certification bodies, auditors, and consultants. This is why we have strived for ISO 27001 certification”, says our Managing Director Stephan Tromp. The ISO/IEC 27001:2013 specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). IFS has incorporated these requirements successfully. The audit has been conducted by KPMG Cert GmbH. So, it is now officially certified: Your data is safe with us!

Published Date 21 February 2020

IFS accepted by French authority DGAL

After the recognition by the Dutch Food Safety Authority NVWA, the IFS Food Standard is now also recognized by the French General Directorate of Food, DGAL. DGAL states “we congratulate IFS on this achievement. IFS complies with most of our criteria and therefore we decided to include the IFS Food Standard as part of the realisation of our official Food Safety inspections on specific control points for the beginning of this recognition”. In 2017 DGAL started a procedure to study private standards in order to evaluate the possibility of taking audit results into consideration as a part of the organization of its official controls. After 3 years and 23 observations of IFS Food audits by DGAL inspectors, the authority now officially recognises the IFS Food standard under specific terms to be defined in an agreement between the two parties. It will be a part of the realisation of official food safety inspections from now on.

Published Date 18 February 2020

Publication of IFS Food V7 postponed

The publication of the IFS Food 7 will be postponed. With the establishment of a uniform European procedure, which necessitates a program evaluation (EA 1/22) by the European Accreditation Forum (EA), IFS is now formally required to comply with this procedure and undergo a full program evaluation for IFS Food Version 7. Although such a formal program evaluation seems unnecessary after 18 years, IFS will naturally fulfil this demand. However, as a result IFS Food Version 7 will only be published once the evaluation by our home-accreditation body the Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle GmbH (DAkkS) has successfully been completed.