IFS Food Version 8 brings exciting new features, raising the bar for food safety practices. As demand for food safety grows, industry standards evolve, and IFS leads the way in ensuring top-quality and safe food worldwide. Food Safety Experts is an official IFS Academy trainer and consultant. We are thrilled to unveil the remarkable advancements in IFS Food Version 8. These changes not only establish higher standards but also transform food safety practices, marking a new era of excellence in the industry.
B-score IFS Food Version 8
IFS Food Version 8 provides clearer classification of deviations, ensuring greater understanding for everyone involved. Previously, there was confusion regarding the B-score’s categorization. However, Version 8 explicitly labels it as a deviation, facilitating easier issue resolution and promoting continuous improvements. In addition, the reclassification of the B-score as a deviation is now more prominent. It simplifies the identification and resolution of problems. Furthermore, IFS has updated their brochure, “The IFS Scoring System – Driving Continuous Improvement”. This document gives you a detailed information about this important change. Clearer understanding enables organizations to consistently enhance their systems by addressing identified deviations.
Codex Alimentarius and ISO 22003-2
IFS Food Version 8 prioritizes enhancing the audit process’s efficiency through strategic measures. To achieve this, IFS has restructured the checklist to align seamlessly with the audit process. As a result, the experience for all participants becomes streamlined and effortless. Notably, a significant improvement is the integration of food defense into chapter 4. This strategic integration, following ISO 22003-2 standards, helps companies meet requirements and establish strong safety measures. Here you can download the official IFS Food and Product Defense v1.1 Guideline.
Food Safety Culture
IFS Food Version 8 places significant emphasis on food safety culture, recognizing its vital role in protecting consumers. Certified companies now have a requirement to set objectives for each of the four dimensions of food safety culture. As a result, this proactive approach ensures that companies integrate food safety practices into all aspects of their organization, reflecting their strong commitment to upholding the highest standards. As a certified company, it is crucial for you to define objectives for each dimension of food safety culture, as outlined in chapter 2 of the standard. For a comprehensive overview of this topic, you can download the official IFS Food Safety Culture Factsheet.
IFS Star status
IFS Food Version 8 introduces an exciting addition called the IFS Star status. We award this special recognition to companies that undergo unannounced audits, greatly enhancing the credibility of their audit process. The IFS Star will prominently display in the IFS Database and on the IFS Certificate, visually symbolizing a company’s exceptional commitment to food safety. Unannounced audits demonstrate that your company adheres to the IFS Requirements every day. With the introduction of the IFS Star status, it signifies that we conducted the audit without prior notice, highlighting your outstanding engagement. To further emphasize this achievement, IFS has designed a special logo.
Protected Designation of Origin or Protected Geographical Indication
On the IFS Certificate, you can include EU PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) with a disclaimer. However, you cannot make claims about geographical indication schemes. Nevertheless, if the product falls under such a scheme according to Regulation (EU) N° 1151/2012, you can mention its name in the certificate scope. It’s important to clarify that IFS Food Certification doesn’t certify geographical indication scheme claims. Therefore, you should add a disclaimer to the certificate stating that the scheme is an extrinsic quality and is not assessed by IFS Food Certification. You can provide further details about claims in the report. Generally, you cannot exclude production processes, storage, transport, or specific products, unless you meet specific conditions listed in Annex 4. You should document the agreed scope in the contract and review it with the auditor during the opening meeting of the IFS Food Audit.
IFS Food Version 8 Doctrine
The IFS Food Standard has significantly improved by reducing reporting time, doctrine rules, and administrative requirements. Despite these reductions, it aligns with GFSI benchmarking and accreditation documentation requirements. It’s worth noting the strong connection between the IFS Food Standard and the IFS Food Doctrine. The doctrine provides additional rules and clarifications for interpreting specific IFS Food Requirements. Both documents hold a normative status and are highly relevant in the food industry.To access the official IFS doctrine, you can download it here.
Restructured checklist
In IFS Food Version 8, they have restructured the checklist to align more consistently with the audit process, improving efficiency. By systematically following the audit process, the restructured checklist guarantees a smoother and streamlined experience for auditors and companies that undergo audits. One notable change in the restructuring is the integration of food defense into chapter 4.
Audit IFS Food Version 8
IFS Food Version 8 has made substantial improvements in the clarity and consistency of the checklist’s wording. The revisions aim to clearly express the intention behind each requirement, ensuring better understanding for auditors and organizations. Additionally, in line with ISO 22003-2, the word “assessment” has been replaced with “audit” in the checklist. This change aligns the IFS Food Standard with industry terminology, promoting harmonization and facilitating more cohesive auditing practices. The enhanced wording and terminology enable a more precise interpretation of requirements, supporting the effective implementation of the IFS Food Standard.
Other optimizations
IFS Food Version 8 has streamlined processes and improved efficiency through further optimizations. Firstly, they have removed triple certification, enabling a more focused and specialized certification approach. Additionally, the certificate no longer emphasizes logistics information, ensuring a more concise presentation of certification details. Moreover, companies with simple processes can choose to reduce the on-site audit and audit time. We recommend consulting with your Certification Body (CB) to explore this option and determine the best approach for your company. These optimizations aim to customize the certification process to meet each organization’s requirements, promoting efficiency while upholding the integrity of food safety standards.
At Food Safety Experts, we believe that food safety is not just a compliance requirement but a shared responsibility to protect consumers and build trust. With IFS Food Version 8 and our expertise as an official IFS Academy trainer and consultant, we invite you to join us on the journey towards a safer, more sustainable food industry.
IFS requirement 4.6.1 Adaptive Environmental Monitoring Scheme
The IFS Food v8 introduces a change with requirement 4.6.1. We’ve designed a one-pager to guide you in creating your own Adaptive Environmental Monitoring Scheme.
Click here to download the one-pager.
More information about IFS Food v8:
Auditing against IFS Food version 7 or version 8
Training Food Safety Experts:
IFS Academy Training conducted by Food Safety Experts