The IFS Global Markets – Food is a standardized food safety assessment program for retailers as well as industry branded food products. The program is meant to support “small and/or less developed businesses” in the development of their food safety management systems and making the first step towards the implementation of the IFS Food Standard.

SCOPE

The program includes different Level checklists and assessment protocol to drive gradually, the continuous improvement process and the implementation of a full food safety management system. The final objective may be to reach the IFS Food certification over a defined period of time.

The final objective may be to reach the IFS Food certification over a defined period of time.

The Program consists out of two different Level checklists, which requirements should be fulfilled within a defined timeframe.

• 1. Basic Level Requirements
  • Food Safety Management Systems
    • Specifications including Product Release, Traceability, Food Safety Incident Management, Control of Non-Conforming Product, Corrective Action
  • Good Manufacturing Practices
    • Personal Hygiene, Facility Environment, Cleaning and Disinfection, Product Contamination Control, Pest Control, Water Quality
  • Control of Food Hazards
    • Control of Food Hazards - General and Specific, Control of Allergens
• 2. Intermediate Level Requirements
  • Food Safety Management Systems
    • Specifications including Product Release, Traceability, Food Safety Incident Management, Control of Non-Conforming Product, Corrective Action
  • Good Manufacturing Practices
    • Facility and Equipment Maintenance, Staff Facilities, Waste Management, Storage and Transport
  • HACCP and Additional Requirements
    • HACCP, Food Defence
• IFS Food Certification

OBJECTIVES

• Facilitate local market access
• Create mutual acceptance along the supply chain, and
• Provide a framework to assist small and less developed companies with
  • Mentoring
  • Development
  • Assessment

BENEFITS

The IFS Global Markets – Food program combines the Global Markets Checklists with the advantages of

• An IFS assessment protocol for small end less developed companies
• A systematic approach to achieve the IFS Food Standard within a certain period
• Basic qualification requirements for Certification Bodies/Assessment of service providers and assessors
• A uniform consistent evaluation system
• An approach for a continuous improvement process within the IFS scoring system
• Comparability and transparency throughout the entire supply chain
• Reduction of costs and time for both suppliers and retailers
• A structured and consistent reporting system
• The IFS software “auditXpressTM” for an easy and consistent assessment reporting
• The IFS Database to simplify the follow-up of suppliers and partners