IFS Food - version 8
IFS Food version 8 was recently published.
- What is IFS Food certification?
- What do the changes in IFS Food version 8 involve?
- From when does IFS Food version 8 apply?
Edith Castelein
What is IFS Food certification?
IFS (International Featured Standards) focus on food safety and hygiene in the food processing and related sectors. IFS is an international standard with more than 11,000 certified companies in more than 95 countries and is often referred to as the German/French counterpart to the British BRCGS standard. As a baseline, IFS requires a documented and effective HACCP and quality management system, and sets additional requirements regarding management responsibility, resource management, substantiation of production processes, personnel hygiene, and measurements and analyses.
What do the changes in IFS Food version 8 involve?
The standard was recently updated to IFS Food version 8, incorporating the Codex Alimentarius, the ISO 22003-2 requirements and the GFSI benchmarking requirements. The changed term 'assessment' has been reverted back to 'audit', in line with the ISO 22003-2 requirements.
The main changes
- IFS-Star status for companies choosing the unannounced audit option.
- The B-score is once again a 'deviation' instead of a 'point of attention'.
- Food safety culture has been addressed in more depth: objectives must be defined for each of the four dimensions of food safety culture.
- The 1-year time frame has been changed to 12 months, for example for internal audits.
- Food defence has become part of chapter 4 instead of a separate chapter.
From when does IFS Food version 8 apply?
IFS Food version 8 takes effect on a voluntary basis from 1 October 2023 and becomes mandatory from 1 January 2024. An exception applies to companies whose time window for the unannounced audit starts on 1 October 2023: they must switch to version 8 from 1 October 2023.
Our Normanists are happy to help you interpret and implement these new requirements.
