IFS CERTIFICATE
This standard, expressed as the International Food Standard, emerged in 2000 as a result of the improvement of food safety by the Chamber of Commerce CIES - The Global Food Business Forum. IFS International Food Certificate serves for equal analysis of the quality levels of producers and food safety. It is applied for all production processes that monitor agricultural production and in which food is processed. IFS certification gives European Retailers access to market products. This certificate shows that the institution produces food products in accordance with the European Union rules and the quality needs of the retailers. At the same time, food production, packaging, transportation, storage and so on. It is a food safety standard that includes certain conditions so that the stages do not cause harm to living things.
IFS classifies itself in 5 sections;
* Requests to QMS
* Management Responsibility
* Resource Management
* Production Processes
* Measurement, Analysis, Improvement
Food businesses with the International Food Safety Certificate open up new market opportunities, because companies with IFS Certificate are preferred because they fulfill the requirements with food safety and have international validity. In addition, to say other benefits, it gains consumer trust, improves brand image, provides savings, provides transparency, and provides quality and confidence in the supply chain process. The standard can be used for all production processes that monitor agricultural production and process food. It includes primary food packers and food producers. It does not apply to importers and those who only ship, store and distribute.
Food process audits were carried out by the relevant departments of independent European retailers and wholesalers until 2003. Developing a food safety standard has become an inevitable need in the food sector, which has become a huge sector with the increase in demands from the consumer world, the increasing obligations of retailers and wholesalers, increasing legal responsibilities and globalizing product supply structure. IFS Certificate is accepted worldwide, such as HACCP, GFSI, BRC and SQF, among other food safety standards.
IF Certification Process
The largest food associations in the world, organizations such as HDE, FDE CONAD and COOP, require the IFS Certificate to their suppliers. Some countries have included the IFS Standard in their official food safety policies. Some of them are like Spain, Austria and Switzerland. IFS Food Standard will create new market opportunities for food businesses holding IFS Certificate. Because companies with IFS certificate are preferred in the sector as they fulfill their obligations regarding food safety and their certificates are valid in the international arena. It stands out as the brands that the consumers trust. IFS Food Certificate increases the brand image and prestige. Savings and transparency in production processes; provides quality and trust in the supply chain process. BRC Food Standard has categorized food processing and has been reviewed and published under 6 titles. When applying for certification, companies should examine these categories and apply over the appropriate category for them.
These categories are;
* Unprocessed meat and fish products (Red and white meat-fish, unprocessed meat and fish products)
* Production (Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables)
* Daily Foods (milk and dairy products, eggs)
* Meat and fish products cooked and frozen, ready to eat or cook
* Environmentally resistant, heat protected, packaged food products
* Other environmentally resistant food products (Beverages, bakery products, dried foods, light food products and breakfast cereals, oils and fats, food additives)
IFS Audit Processes
Certification decisions are made in parallel with the conditions and scoring of the audit reports and the certification section of the IFS Audit Protocol. During the audit process, the Auditor approves the action plan and then submits the completed action plan to the Certification Team. The team reviews the following information and at the end of the audit process, customers are provided with an action plan document.
* Notes received by the auditor during the audit
* Final report
* Completed action plan
The action plan document includes the following details:
* IFS Requirement Number
* IFS Requirement
* Deviation / Mismatch Level (B, C, D, Major or KO)
* Deviation / Incompatibility Detail
When non-conformance arises, customers complete the following parts of the action plan and return it to the auditor for approval:
* Corrective step to be taken by the company
* Responsible / Date / Application Status
When the certification process is completed, the report, action plan and the details about the certification status of the company that will receive the IFS Food Certificate are uploaded to the IFS Portal. Upon completion of this process, a username and password is sent to the nominated representative. This provides access to uploaded documents. Companies can follow the ongoing processes from this portal. The representative of the company can download the report for distribution to the interested parties, and at the same time accept the conditions for the use of the IFS logo and download a copy of the logo.
What other benefits does being listed under IFS audits in the IFS database provide the food industry?
* IFS certified companies have different advantages when using the IFS audit portal. First, they can manage their own IFS audit reports and action plans through it. Certification bodies are responsible for uploading audit data (including report, action plan). Companies can make this data available to their customers (eg merchants) with one “click”.
* Companies can also eg. It can upload the certificates of other standards such as bio certification, QS, KAT, BRC, SQF online and make them available through the database. All certificates can be viewed from a public list.
* Certified companies can also search for other certified companies in the IFS database and issue them through the "My Audit" function. This way, he can check whether their pre-suppliers are IFS certified. They can get general information, but not report and action plan. A special activation is required for this.
And as a result companies can also download the original audit file of the AuditXpress software online and use it for internal audits if they have the "AuditXpress for internal audits" software required for this.
"As EKOL Certification Body, you can contact us to get detailed information and benefit from our quality certification services that we realize with a customer-oriented approach and IFS Certificate, where our customers can easily convey their expectations and satisfaction."