TÜV AUSTRIA HELLAS, consistent in the effort for the effective and continuous support of business needs of its clients and colleagues wish to inform you that, after 3 years, the private protocol IFS Food has been revised.
IFS Food is the leading standard for food safety and quality certification in Europe and is accepted by leading retail and wholesale companies worldwide. The new version aims to provide an easier, more efficient, and more practical procedure for auditors and companies.
The new version of the private protocol IFS Food was published by the scheme owners (IFS – International Featured Standard) on 18.04.2023.
IFS Food version 8 audits are possible from 1 October 2023 and become mandatory for all certified companies as of 1 January 2024.
Τhe applicability of version 7 ends on 31 December 2023. In some exceptional situations, IFS Food version 7 can apply after 1 January 2024. The general
admission of these exceptions ends on 31 December 2024.
The most important changes and improvements introduced with version 8 of IFS Food are:
1. The B-score is again classified as a deviation, so that companies can define a correction and corrective actions to improve their performance continuously.
2. “IFS Star status” is introduced to indicate that the last audit that was conducted to the company was unannounced. A star logo will be visible in the IFS database and on the IFS Certificate. Through IFS Star it becomes easier for the certified companies to project their outstanding engagement to the supply chain partners.
3. It is possible to add EU PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) on the IFS Certificate with a disclaimer.
4. Companies must define objectives for each of the four dimensions of food safety culture.
5. The wording in the checklist is more consistent and clearer to clarify the intention of requirements better. Also, the word “assessment“ becomes “audit“ again, in line with ISO 22003-2.
6. The reporting time, the number of doctrine rules, and other administrative requirements have become significantly less while still in line with the documentation requirements of GFSI benchmarking and accreditation.
7. The restructured checklist follows the audit process more consequently and increases the audit’s efficiency. For example, food defense is now part of chapter 4.
8. Τhe standard is aligned with the Codex Alimentarius and ISO 22003-2 and GFSI Benchmarking Requirements.
TÜV AUSTRIA HELLAS will keep you informed about the changes resulting from the implementation of the new version of the scheme as well as the training programs of IFS Food.