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

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 personal care (HPC) standards. Pius touched on the IFS risk-based approach, high level of auditor training, the integrity program and the scoring system. In addition, he explained the IFS auditing tools, the IFS database and dashboard and introduced the IFS training materials such as the Pest Control, Product Fraud and Foreign Body Management guides. We learned about FSMA and enjoyed a risk assessment and root cause analysis talk where shared a number of his experiences which attendees found of particular interest.

We were delighted to have Alan Kenney from Bulldog Bag, an IFS PACsecure certified company, speak about his experience with the implementation process, their challenges and how they addressed them. He shared with us the benefits of IFS certification and why Bulldog chose and recommend IFS PACsecure for packaging companies seeking GFSI certification. In particular, he stressed the value of working with a standard that was developed by the packaging industry and with auditors who understand packaging processes.

Siarl Siviyer Dixon from AIB gave an entertaining presentation about his auditing experiences, his work with IFS, and why he feels IFS standards are a good choice. He covered the auditing process, auditor scheduling and how to choose a Certification Body (CB). He also highlighted the value of the IFS risk-based approach and unique method of scoring.

Cheryl Sullivan, IFS North American Marketing Representative, shared the IFS marketing activities for 2019, reviewing efforts to date and future plans. 

Feedback from attendees was very positive as demonstrated by the following responses:​

IFS certified company representatives and Pius Gasser from IFS