PIA
Product Integrity

The IFS Broker Guideline 

This guideline is designed to assist internal and IFS auditors in conducting audits and gaining a better understanding of the IFS Broker Requirements, including their purpose and background. It contains audit questions, documentation notes, and practical advice. The guideline has been updated to version 3.2, and its layout has been refreshed.

The IFS Broker 3.2 Audit Protocol for Remote Auditing 

This document is meant for certification bodies and auditors who are conducting an IFS Broker Audit using remote ICT. Certified companies can refer to this document to comprehend the process and get ready for the remote audit. We have revised this protocol to be in line with version 3.2 of the IFS Broker Standard and accreditation requirements (IAF MD1:2023). 

The remote option is voluntary and must be agreed upon well in advance between the certification body and the company subject to IFS Broker Certification. Our broker fact sheet provides a brief overview of the remote audit option.  

Download the Documents 

Discover the essential information and valuable insights these documents provide:

• Download the updated IFS Broker 3.2 Audit Protocol for Remote Auditing in English.
• Download the updated IFS Broker Guideline in English.

Further recommended documents for downloading

IFS Broker version 3.2 – This is the current version of the standard.

IFS Broker 3.2 Doctrine – The current document answers frequently asked technical questions and clarifies the intention of specific requirements. It is a normative document that complements the standard.  

The IFS Food Standard reviews products and production processes to evaluate a food producer’s ability to produce safe products according to legal requirements and customer specifications. We launched the first standard 22 years ago. Having over 20,000 IFS Food Certificates today, IFS has become a leading standard worldwide and the market leader in Europe. Major retail, wholesale, and food service companies trust our standards fit their specific needs and contribute to consumers finding safe and good quality private-label products in their stores.

In today’s announcement on their website Erica Sheward, GFSI Director, said, “We congratulate IFS on gaining GFSI recognition of their Food Standard v8. We commend IFS’s dedication to maintaining the rigorous standards necessary to ensure food safety across international markets.”

Stephan Tromp, IFS Managing Director, said, “We are delighted with the continued recognition of IFS Food version 8 by GFSI. This confirms the high level at which IFS operates and provides the food industry with a globally accepted standard. At IFS, we are committed to food safety and process excellence. IFS Food Certification supports the relationship between industry, retail, wholesale, and food service. A growing number of companies worldwide embrace our unique approach to product and process certification.”

GFSI recognition of IFS Food 8 is an important prerequisite for IFS Stakeholders. GFSI is an initiative of the Consumer Goods Forum, a private organisation of food industry companies. The organisation has defined benchmarking requirements to promote mutual acceptance of GFSI-recognised certification programs. GFSI assesses if the standards and procedures of certification program owners such as IFS are according to their benchmarking requirements.

See the full GFSI announcement.

For more information on the IFS Food Standard visit the webpage.

For more information about accreditation and recognition, please visit this site.

IFS Broker is the standard for auditing the service compliance of brokers, sales representatives, traders and importers of food, household and personal care products or packaging materials. The IFS PACsecure Standard is for assessing packaging material manufacturing and converting processes concerning product safety, quality, and customer and regulatory compliance. Certification bodies providing certification to these standards must be accredited by IAF MLA signatories, offering confidence that the above operations meet prescribed criteria. 

IFS Broker and IFS PACsecure are now recognised by IAF as IAF MLA sub-scopes under the main scope of Product Certification—ISO/IEC 17065. This ensures mutual recognition of accredited certification for these standards by IAF MLA signatories and allows acceptance in many markets based on one accreditation. 

“I am delighted to announce that IFS PACsecure and IFS Broker are joining IFS Food and IFS Logistics as IAF MLA sub-scopes,” said Emanuele Riva, IAF Chair. “We look forward to continuing to work with IFS to support the quality, safety and regulatory compliance of products worldwide.”

“Companies holding IFS Broker and IFS PACsecure Certificates demonstrate that they have established robust procedures and processes to deliver safe and trusted products to their customers. IFS is known and respected by many retail, wholesale, and food service companies for its unique product and process approach, robust standards, high auditor qualifications, and strict quality assurance. The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and its members independently verified that our standards meet all required criteria. We are proud that four IFS Standards are now recognised under the IAF MLA. This greatly contributes to our certificates being recognized and trusted worldwide," said Stephan Tromp, IFS Managing Director. 

About IAF: 

The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) is a global association of accreditation bodies, conformity assessment body associations and other organisations involved in conformity assessment in fields including validation and verification and the certification of management systems, products, processes, services, and persons. 

IAF promotes the worldwide acceptance of certificates of conformity and validation/verification statements issued by conformity assessment bodies accredited by IAF MLA signatories and seeks to add value for all stakeholders through its activities and programs. 

About IFS: 

IFS Management GmbH, owned by the French retail association FCD and the German retail association HDE, develops globally recognised product quality and safety standards and development programs for companies within the food and consumer goods supply chain companies. 

IFS comprises six different food and non-food standards and four development programs. These assess whether private label and branded product suppliers can deliver safe, quality products in line with regulations and customer specifications. In this way, IFS helps ensure that consumers can trust that the products they find on retail shelves are safe and of excellent quality.