The new version of the IFS-Food standard was published on April 18, 2023. From Oct. 1, 2023, it will be possible for companies to conduct audits according to the new version. From Jan. 1, 2024, this will be mandatory.
The following major changes apply to the new IFS Food version:
- The requirements around food safety culture have been tightened; for example, for the new version, minimum objectives must be set regarding communication about the food safety policy, training, feedback from employees regarding food safety and measuring performance in this regard.
- Meeting customer agreements is a new knockout requirement, specifically for agreements around recipes and process-technical agreements. It also applies to aligned monitoring plans and agreements around packaging and labeling.
- All subjects from the standard should be covered during internal audits at least every 12 months. Depending on the risk, internal audits should be performed more frequently.
- The requirements around crisis management have been tightened. Among other things, assigning responsibilities, training people involved and the communication plan have now become part of the knockout.
- The basic conditions program has been updated to the current 2020 version of the Codex Alimentarius General Principles of Food Hygiene.
- A star is used on the IFS certificate to indicate that an audit took place unannounced. In addition, it is possible to include origin statements as a disclaimer on the certificate.
- The B score is again counted as a deviation in the audit protocol, the chaptering of the standards is more structured.
Want to know more?
Précon organizes knowledge sessions on different dates to inform you about the biggest changes in IFS-Food version 8. Check the training page for more information or contact us at info@precon.groupor +31 (0)30 - 65 66 010.