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IFS (International Featured Standards) is a family of GFSI-recognized food safety and quality standards created by German and French retailers and widely required by European retail chains. In the United States, Kiwa ASI (ASI Food Safety, LLC) delivers IFS Food, IFS Logistics and IFS Broker audits as the U.S. office of Kiwa España, an IFS-approved certification body accredited by ENAC (No. 14/C-PR035) to ISO/IEC 17065.
Last updated September 29, 2026
An IFS specialist will reach out to discuss scope, scheduling and pricing.
IFS certification shows that a supplier meets one of the International Featured Standards, a set of food safety and quality standards owned by IFS Management GmbH. The best known is IFS Food, the standard for food processing and manufacturing sites. An IFS-approved certification body audits the site on-site, scores every requirement and issues a certificate at Foundation or Higher Level. Certification isn't required by law, but it's widely required by European retailers, especially in Germany, France and Italy, and accepted by many buyers worldwide.
The German retail federation HDE and its French counterpart FCD created IFS Food in 2003, and IFS Management GmbH remains their joint venture. More than 20,000 IFS Food certificates are held today, and 83 certification bodies audit to IFS standards. See how IFS fits within GFSI certification.
IFS Food Version 8 was published in April 2023 and has been mandatory for all IFS Food audits since January 1, 2024. It was recognized by GFSI against its Benchmarking Requirements 2020 in September 2024. In April 2026 IFS published Doctrine Version 5, which clarifies how Version 8 is applied, instead of a new version of the standard. IFS Food 8 is now being benchmarked against GFSI's 2024 requirements.
IFS Food Version 8 is GFSI-recognized for produce packing (BIII), food manufacturing (C0, CI–CIV) and biochemicals (K). IFS Food, IFS Logistics, IFS Broker and IFS PACsecure are GFSI-recognized; IFS HPC and IFS Wholesale / Cash & Carry are not.
IFS Food checks product safety, quality, legality and authenticity in a single audit, across 5 chapters and more than 230 requirements.
Every requirement is scored A, B, C or D. A site needs at least 75% for certification, and 10 knockout (KO) requirements can fail the audit on their own.
IFS Food certificates are renewed every year, and at least every third IFS Food audit must be unannounced.
IFS publishes a standard for each part of the supply chain. All are certified by certification bodies accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 and contracted with IFS Management GmbH. Kiwa ASI audits the three marked below.
Food processing and manufacturing, whenever a product is processed or there's a contamination risk from primary packing.
Transport, storage, loading and unloading of food and non-food products, by road, rail, sea or air, frozen, chilled or ambient.
Brokers, traders, importers and agencies that buy and sell products without physically handling them.
Production, processing and conversion of food and non-food packaging materials.
Manufacturing and packing of household and personal care products.
Wholesalers of food, household and personal care products and packaging, and packers of fruit, vegetables and eggs.
A stepping-stone assessment for smaller or developing suppliers. It ends in a Letter of Confirmation, not a certificate.
Note: Kiwa ASI doesn't currently offer IFS PACsecure or IFS HPC audits. A food processor that also trades products it doesn't make can combine IFS Food and IFS Broker in one audit, and a manufacturer's own storage and transport are already covered by IFS Food, so it doesn't need a separate IFS Logistics audit.
IFS Food applies to any site that processes food or packs it where the primary packing could contaminate it, including private label producers, branded manufacturers and co-packers. Your audit scope combines one or more of the 11 product scopes below with technology scopes A–F (from sterilization and pasteurization to packing and cooking), and every scope is printed on the certificate.
Red and white meat, poultry and meat products.
Fish and fish products.
Egg and egg products.
Dairy products, from milk to cheese and ice cream.
Fruit and vegetables and their products.
Grain products, cereals, industrial bakery and pastry, confectionery and snacks.
Products that combine ingredients from several scopes, such as ready meals.
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Edible oils and fats.
Dry goods, other ingredients and supplements.
Food for pets.
Not a processor? Logistics providers use IFS Logistics, and brokers, traders and importers use IFS Broker. Primary production and farming aren't covered by IFS Food. We confirm your standard and scopes before the audit.
IFS certification opens doors with European retailers and gives every buyer the same independent, scored view of your site.
IFS is the leading food standard in continental Europe and is widely required by retailers in Germany, France and Italy.
Because IFS Food is GFSI-recognized, one certificate can meet the GFSI requirement of many global retailers and brand owners.
IFS Food covers product quality, legality and authenticity alongside food safety, so buyers see both in one report.
Every requirement is scored, and the overall percentage and Foundation or Higher Level result give buyers a clear benchmark.
Unannounced audits earn the IFS Star Status, and IFS runs its own unannounced integrity checks on certified sites.
Food safety culture, food fraud, food defense, allergen and environmental monitoring requirements build a stronger system, which also helps with FDA FSMA compliance (certification doesn't replace it).
The IFS Food 8 audit checklist has five chapters and more than 230 requirements. Ten of them are knockout (KO) requirements, marked below:
Senior management's responsibility for food safety and quality.
The documented system and the HACCP study.
People, hygiene and staff facilities.
Everything from the customer contract to the finished product.
Checking that the system works and fixing what doesn't.
The IFS Food 8 standard and checklist are free to download from IFS; see the free IFS documents below.
An IFS Food audit is always on-site and covers every applicable requirement in the checklist. The auditor follows your products and processes, samples products for a traceability test and spends at least half of the audit in production areas. IFS's own calculator sets the audit length from your number of employees, product scopes and processing steps: at least 2 days (16 hours) in most cases. The same auditor can't carry out more than three full audits in a row at your site.
| KO requirement | What the auditor checks |
|---|---|
| 1. Governance and commitment (1.2.1) | Employees know their food safety and quality responsibilities, and senior management monitors how well this works |
| 2. CCP monitoring (2.3.9.1) | Documented monitoring for each critical control point keeps it under control, shown by records |
| 3. Personal hygiene (3.2.2) | All relevant staff, contractors and visitors understand and apply the hygiene rules |
| 4. Customer agreement (4.1.3) | Customer agreements on recipe, process, testing, packaging and labeling are complied with |
| 5. Raw material specifications (4.2.1.3) | Up-to-date specifications exist for all raw materials: ingredients, additives, packaging and rework |
| 6. Foreign material risk mitigation (4.12.1) | Risk-based procedures prevent contamination with foreign materials |
| 7. Traceability (4.18.1) | Product lots can be traced to raw material batches and food contact packaging, through to delivery |
| 8. Internal audits (5.1.1) | The internal audit program covers all IFS requirements, planned within 12 months and completed within 15 |
| 9. Recalls, withdrawals and incidents (5.9.1) | A documented procedure for recalls, withdrawals, incidents and emergencies, with a decision-maker always available |
| 10. Corrective actions (5.11.3) | Corrective actions are defined with responsibilities and timescales and implemented as soon as possible |
Each requirement is scored, and the overall result is a percentage of the points possible:
| Score | Points | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 20 | Full compliance |
| B | 15 | Almost full compliance (a deviation) |
| C | 5 | Part of the requirement isn't implemented |
| D | −20 | The requirement isn't implemented |
| Major | −15% of total | Substantial failure to meet the standard, or a process out of control; no certificate |
| KO scored D | −50% of total | A knockout requirement isn't met; no certificate |
A KO requirement can only be scored A, B (0 points) or D, never C. Any Major or KO scored D means certification can't be granted; at a recertification audit the current certificate is withdrawn within 2 working days.
Certificate issued once the action plan is accepted; 12-month validity.
Certificate issued once the action plan is accepted; 12-month validity.
The audit is failed. A new initial audit can take place no earlier than 6 weeks later.
One Major, 75% or more: a follow-up audit on-site, 6 weeks to 6 months after the audit, can still lead to a Foundation Level certificate. After every audit: the certification body sends the action plan within 2 weeks, you return it with evidence of corrections within 4 weeks, and the report and certificate are uploaded to the IFS Database 6–8 weeks after the last audit day.
Since January 1, 2021, at least every third IFS Food audit must be unannounced, whatever the version. The rule also applies to IFS Logistics and IFS PACsecure, and is optional for IFS Broker. Sites can choose unannounced audits every year.
An unannounced audit can happen from 16 weeks before to 2 weeks after your audit due date. Register for the unannounced option at least 4 weeks before the window opens.
You can block up to 10 working days, in no more than 3 periods, when an audit isn't possible, such as a planned shutdown.
A site that passes an unannounced audit gets the IFS Star Status, a star shown on its certificate and in the IFS Database. The star is removed after the next announced audit.
If a site refuses the auditor, the certification body withdraws the certificate within 2 working days and invoices the full cost of the audit.
Separately, IFS's own integrity auditors can visit certified sites with 30 minutes' notice. A Major or KO found there has the same effect as in a regular audit.
IFS publishes the standard, the doctrine and the audit checklist guideline as free PDFs. Use them to plan your gap assessment and internal audits before your certification audit.
Documents are published by IFS Management GmbH and hosted on ifs-certification.com.
IFS certification cost is driven mainly by audit time, which IFS's calculator sets from your employees, product scopes and processing steps, with a minimum of 2 days for most sites. Extra lines, complex processes or several HACCP studies can add time. Budget across five areas:
Quoted per site from the calculated audit days, plus report writing and travel.
IFS Food certificates are renewed every year, so the audit is repeated annually.
Only if a single Major is found and you score 75% or more; an extra on-site visit within 6 months.
HACCP, internal auditing, food defense, food fraud, allergen, environmental monitoring and culture courses for your team (Kiwa ASI course prices).
Building, equipment, hygiene, foreign material detection or monitoring upgrades needed to meet the requirements.
The IFS Food standard itself is free. Request a quote for audit pricing for your site.
Getting IFS Food certified takes 10 steps in three phases: preparation (steps 1–5), the certification audit (6–8) and maintaining certification (9–10).
Check which IFS standard fits your activities, then list your products, product scopes and processing steps. A new site should run for at least 3 months before its first audit.
Download IFS Food Version 8, Doctrine Version 5 and the audit checklist guideline free from ifs-certification.com.
Compare your current system with every requirement, starting with the 10 KO requirements. A pre-audit is optional; IFS requires a different auditor than the one who does your certification audit.
Put in place your policy and culture objectives, HACCP plan, specifications, traceability, allergen, food fraud and food defense plans, and environmental monitoring.
Train staff, then run internal audits covering all IFS requirements and a management review.
Sign a contract with an IFS-approved certification body accredited to ISO/IEC 17065, agree the scope and choose the announced or unannounced option.
The auditor audits every applicable requirement over consecutive days and runs a traceability test on sampled products.
Return the action plan with evidence of corrections within 4 weeks. The report and certificate are uploaded to the IFS Database 6–8 weeks after the audit.
Announced recertification audits take place from 8 weeks before to 2 weeks after the anniversary of your initial audit.
At least every third audit is unannounced, within a window of 16 weeks before to 2 weeks after the due date, so stay audit-ready all year.
Live virtual Kiwa ASI courses, taught by experienced food safety trainers, for the IFS Food requirements and KO areas auditors look at most closely.
Develop, implement and maintain a Codex-based HACCP plan, the basis of IFS Food section 2.3 and KO 2.3.9.1.
16 contact hours · 4 half-days · Live via Zoom · 8:30 AM–12:30 PM CT
Dates on request. Ask about upcoming dates
Plan, conduct and report internal audits that cover every IFS requirement, as KO 5.1.1 requires.
Full day · Live online · 8:30 AM–4:30 PM CT
Dates on request. Ask about upcoming dates
Threat assessment, mitigation and a food defense plan, supporting IFS Food 4.21 and FDA 21 CFR 121.
Full day · Live via Zoom · 8:30 AM–4:30 PM CT
Dates on request. Ask about upcoming dates
Food fraud vulnerability assessments and mitigation plans (IFS Food 4.20), plus crisis and recall management (KO 5.9.1).
Live virtual · Instructor-led
Dates on request. Ask about upcoming dates
Build and run an allergen management plan that meets IFS Food 4.19, from risk assessment to verification.
4 hours · Live virtual · Instructor-led
Dates on request. Ask about upcoming dates
Design a risk-based environmental monitoring program, as IFS Food 5.6 requires.
Live virtual · Instructor-led
Dates on request. Ask about upcoming dates
Set food safety culture objectives covering communication, training, feedback and performance, as IFS Food 1.1 requires.
Live virtual · Instructor-led
Need to train 6+ people? Ask about on-site private training.
US-based auditors backed by Kiwa's IFS-approved certification body and global network.
In the United States, Kiwa ASI (ASI Food Safety, LLC) delivers IFS Food, IFS Logistics and IFS Broker audits as the U.S. office of Kiwa España, an IFS-approved certification body accredited by ENAC (No. 14/C-PR035) to ISO/IEC 17065. The IFS certification body search lists ASI Food Safety LLC as Kiwa España's U.S. branch.
Auditors with hands-on food industry experience, so findings are practical and audits run efficiently.
Audit dates planned within your IFS audit window and around your production calendar, with clear communication through the action plan.
Kiwa ASI training is delivered separately from certification, and taking a course has no effect on your audit outcome.
Part of Kiwa, a testing, inspection and certification group operating in more than 30 countries.
IFS certification confirms that a supplier meets one of the International Featured Standards, owned by IFS Management GmbH, a joint venture of the German (HDE) and French (FCD) retail federations. The best known is IFS Food, for food processing and manufacturing sites. An IFS-approved certification body audits the site on-site, scores every requirement and issues a certificate at Foundation or Higher Level. It's widely required by European retailers and accepted by many buyers worldwide.
IFS Food Version 8 is current. It was published in April 2023 and has been mandatory for all IFS Food audits since January 1, 2024. Instead of a new version, IFS published Doctrine Version 5 in April 2026 to clarify how Version 8 is applied. Version 8 has five chapters, down from six in Version 7, because food defense moved into chapter 4.
Yes. IFS Food Version 8 was recognized by GFSI against its Benchmarking Requirements 2020 in September 2024, for produce packing (BIII), food manufacturing (C0, CI–CIV) and biochemicals (K). IFS Logistics, IFS Broker and IFS PACsecure are also GFSI-recognized; IFS HPC is not. IFS Food 8, Broker 3.2, Logistics 3 and PACsecure 3 are now being benchmarked against GFSI's 2024 requirements.
IFS Food 8 has 10 KO requirements: governance and commitment (1.2.1), CCP monitoring (2.3.9.1), personal hygiene (3.2.2), customer agreement (4.1.3), raw material specifications (4.2.1.3), foreign material risk mitigation (4.12.1), traceability (4.18.1), internal audits (5.1.1), recalls, withdrawals and incidents (5.9.1) and corrective actions (5.11.3). A KO scored D subtracts 50% of the total and means no certificate, whatever the overall score.
Each requirement is scored A (20 points, full compliance), B (15, almost full compliance), C (5, partly implemented) or D (−20, not implemented). A Major nonconformity subtracts 15% of the total and a KO scored D subtracts 50%, and either one prevents certification. KO requirements can only be scored A, B or D. The result is the percentage of points possible.
A site passes at Higher Level with a total score of 95% or more, and at Foundation Level with 75% to under 95%, in both cases with no Major and no KO scored D. Both certificates have a 12-month validity. A site certified after a follow-up audit for a Major receives Foundation Level only.
With one Major and a score of at least 75%, a follow-up audit takes place on-site between 6 weeks and 6 months after the audit, and a passed follow-up leads to a Foundation Level certificate. With more than one Major, a KO scored D or a score under 75%, the audit is failed and a new initial audit can take place no earlier than 6 weeks later. At a recertification audit, the current certificate is withdrawn within 2 working days.
IFS Food certificates have a 12-month validity, counted from the date of issue and ending on the initial audit date plus 8 weeks, minus 1 day, plus 1 year. The audit due date stays tied to the anniversary of your initial audit, and announced recertification audits take place from 8 weeks before to 2 weeks after it.
IFS's mandatory calculator sets the audit length from the number of employees, product scopes and processing steps. The minimum is 2 days (16 hours), with small reductions allowed only in defined cases, and extra lines or complex processes can add time. At least half of the audit time is spent in production areas.
At least every third IFS Food audit must be unannounced, and sites can choose unannounced audits every year. The audit can happen from 16 weeks before to 2 weeks after the due date, and you can block up to 10 working days in no more than 3 periods. A passed unannounced audit earns the IFS Star Status. Refusing the auditor leads to withdrawal of the certificate within 2 working days and an invoice for the full audit.
The certification body sends the action plan within 2 weeks of the last audit day. You return it with corrections and evidence within 4 weeks, and the certificate is issued only when the corrections are implemented. The report, action plan and certificate are uploaded to the IFS Database 6 to 8 weeks after the audit.
No. The IFS Database is login-only, for certified companies, certification bodies, auditors, retailers, verified authorities and consultants, and full reports are shared only with the company's permission. Anyone can check that a certificate is genuine through the QR code printed on it.
The main cost is audit time, which IFS's calculator sets from your employees, product scopes and processing steps, with a minimum of 2 days for most sites, plus report writing and travel. The audit is repeated every year, and a follow-up audit is needed only after a single Major. The IFS Food standard itself is free. Call 1 (800) 477-0778 or email US.Info@kiwa-asi.com for a site-specific quote.
All three are GFSI-recognized food safety standards. IFS Food was created by German and French retailers and is the leading standard in continental Europe; SQF is owned by FMI and widely used in North America; BRCGS began with UK retailers. IFS scores requirements A–D and certifies at Foundation or Higher Level, BRCGS grades AA to D and SQF scores audits out of 100. Compare SQF certification and BRCGS certification, or read IFS vs FSSC 22000 vs BRCGS.
Yes. A site can change certification body for its next recertification audit and keeps its certification cycle and audit due date, as well as its unannounced audit history, so the every-third-audit rule carries on. You update the certification body in the IFS Database and inform us, and we plan the audit within your window.
In the United States, Kiwa ASI (ASI Food Safety, LLC) delivers IFS Food, IFS Logistics and IFS Broker audits as the U.S. office of Kiwa España, an IFS-approved certification body accredited by ENAC (No. 14/C-PR035) to ISO/IEC 17065. Kiwa ASI doesn't currently offer IFS PACsecure or IFS HPC audits. Contact us to confirm which IFS standard and scopes fit your operation.
Tell us about your site, products and processes and we'll confirm the IFS standard and scopes, quote your audit and schedule it within your audit window.
In the United States, Kiwa ASI (ASI Food Safety, LLC) delivers IFS Food, IFS Logistics and IFS Broker audits as the U.S. office of Kiwa España, an IFS-approved certification body accredited by ENAC (No. 14/C-PR035) to ISO/IEC 17065. Kiwa ASI training is delivered separately from certification.