Category: Certima Blog

At Certima, we believe the certification process should be straightforward and supportive. That’s why we’ve developed an auditing methodology that not only ensures compliance but also gives you insights to improve your processes and systems. We perform independent, unbiased audits with objectivity, fostering continuous improvement of our customers’ processes. Our process is designed to be clear, transparent, and efficient, supporting the wellbeing of people.

Our approach goes beyond ticking the boxes. We create long-term value for your business by ensuring the certification process strengthens your operations while meeting industry requirements. At Certima, we support you every step of the way, making the journey clear, practical, and beneficial.

We understand compliance is key, but we also know that the right certification can open doors to new opportunities and build trust with your customers. That’s why we focus on making the process smooth and transparent, so you can focus on running your business.

Here’s how our certification process works ⬇️:

1️. Application Stage
You submit an application form with detailed information about your products and technologies. Once reviewed, we define the scope, duration, send an offer and assign a qualified auditor.

2️. Scheduling Stage
After signing the agreement, we schedule your audit. The auditor must observe all products and technology categories within your scope, and we remain flexible to fit your certification timeframe having an available auditor capacity.

3️. Audit Preparation
To ensure an efficient audit, we request key documents in advance, such as your HACCP plan, organizational chart, process flow diagram, certification and recall history.

4️. On-Site Audit
We ensure that our customers meet international standards’, regulatory and client requirements through rigorous compliance. We identify strengths and areas for improvement, providing an End of Audit Letter documenting any non-conformities.

5️. Detailed Reporting
A detailed report is provided after the audit, highlighting non-conformities observed by the auditor.

6️. Corrective Actions
You have 14 days to submit a corrective action plan, specifying steps to eliminate non-conformities and prevent recurrence.

7️. Approval of Corrective Actions
The auditor reviews and approves your corrective actions. If actions are inadequate, we return the plan for revision. This process must be completed within 28 days.

8️. Report Review and Certification Decision
After final review, if criteria are met, we issue your certification, confirming that your business complies with standard requirements.

If you’re ready to explore how Certima can help you achieve certification and enhance your business’s credibility, feel free to reach out. Let’s connect and make this journey as seamless possible for you.

We’re excited to bring you an interactive and insightful session, designed with you in mind!

📅 Join us on 8th November 2024 for a deep dive into the latest updates and strategies to keep your FSMS running smoothly and future-proof.

• Date: 8.11.2024
• Start time: 9 CET
• End time: 12 CET
• Trainer: Anton Hartog

Here’s what’s on for you :

• The newest updates in IFS Food 8 & BRCGS Food Safety 9
• Common FSMS issues and practical solutions
• Tackling non-conformities with root cause analysis and corrective actions
• Building a strong food safety culture
• Managing food safety incidents with confidence
• Plus, updates on IFS Logistics ver. 3 and IFS Broker ver. 3.2

Why should you join?🤔

This isn’t just another event – it’s your chance to learn, share your experiences, and ensure your food safety management system is prepared for the future.

Want to stay ahead of the game? Then, register now : https://forms.gle/WtcPuQe9mCpQPSnx8

If you want to apply for an offer, please visit: https://certima.org/offer/

We look forward to having you with us!

Dear customers and partners,

We would like to inform you that we have already in our portfolio an additional service for our IFS Logistics certified customers – QS quality scheme for food (QS Quality and Safety GmbH).

Logistics companies handling fruit, vegetables and potatoes as well as storage companies handling meat and meat products can obtain a delivery authorization to the QS system by recognizing the IFS Logistics Standard without the performance of any additional inspection on the top of their IFS Logistics annual certification audit.  For this purpose, you can register yourselves in the QS software platform and select Certima BV as your certification body and we will confirm the validity of your current IFS Logistics certificate in the QS database.

Further information can be found here: https://www.q-s.de/

If you are interested in this service and want to receive more information about our terms and conditions, please contact us at: customerservice@certima.org

The new version 3.2. of the IFS Broker standard was released on 29.02.2024. IFS Broker version 3.2. audits become mandatory from 1.07.2024.

The most significant modification concerns the scoring system. Following the other IFS Standards, the B-score is now a deviation again, requiring a correction or corrective action by the audited company.
These updates contribute to greater transparency as customers and other stakeholders of the audited company can easily recognise how the audit was carried out. Furthermore, the report shows which deviation led to the B-score and the action plan specifies what needs to be done to correct the deviation. This creates greater clarity for everyone involved.

As many IFS audits are combined audits with other IFS Standards, it was essential for IFS to align version 3.2 with the other updated IFS Standards, especially IFS Food 8 and IFS Logistics 3. The revisions significantly facilitate the performance of combined IFS Audits.

In IFS Broker 3.2, IFS also introduce the star status, signaling that the audit was unannounced.
Although the changes in the requirements are just a few, the auditing approach and grading of deviations challenges the audited companies to adopt a much deeper understanding and implementation of these requirements into their food safety management system.

• Download IFS Broker 3.2
• Download the updated IFS Scoring System Brochure

The new version 3 of the IFS Logistics standard was released on 6.12.2023.

IFS Logistics version 3 audits are possible starting 1 June 2024 and become mandatory on 1 December 2024.

In general, the applicability of version 2.3 ends on 30 November 2024. However, version 2.3 can apply after 1 December 2024 in some exceptional situations (multi-location, follow-up and extension audits).

For unannounced audits version 3 applies when the audit window starts on or after 1 October 2024.

IFS Logistics version 3 has fewer requirements and an optimized protocol and structure. Further updates concern the scoring system, extensions and clarifications in the scopes, and introduction of the star status to indicate an unannounced audit. It is now aligned with the IFS Food Standard version 8, which is relevant for combined audits.

The most significant changes are:

• Fewer requirements, an optimized protocol, and a structure that consequently follows the audit path.
• A new scope for animal feed is added and IFS introduced two more logistics processing services: simple sorting of fruits and vegetables and labelling.
• The IFS Logistics scope is extended and clarified, especially for short-term storage/transport of containers, organizing logistics activities and exclusion rules.
• Partly outsourced logistics processing services are included in the standard.
• The B-score is again classified as a deviation, so businesses can define a correction and corrective action to improve their performance continuously.
• The new IFS Star status indicates that the audit was unannounced. Supply chain partners can immediately see that the certified company stands out.
• Alignment with the Codex Alimentarius and ISO/IEC 17065, GFSI Benchmarking Requirements and considers ISO22003-2.

More information you can find here:

IFS_Logistics_v3_launch_newsletter_for_industry_EN_1701859182.pdf (ifs-certification.com)

At Certima, we will be taking swift action to update our processes and incorporate the changes, and we will be providing certification for the standard as soon as it comes into effect.

We will launch soon numerous communications and events to inform you accordingly about the changes that the IFS Logistics certified companies should effectuate in their FSMS prior to their IFS Logistics ver. 3 audits.

We have opened limited spots to our upcoming IFS Food 8 AUDITOR training coming on 16 & 17 November 2023.

The training is an important cornerstone for qualifying IFS auditors and also a valuable opportunity to gain deeper understanding in the IFS Food standard requirements, implementation and auditing approach.

The training is suited for food safety professionals aspiring to become IFS auditors and/ or developing, implementing or maintaining food safety management systems to meet the IFS standards requirements.

The training will be performed face to face on 16^th and 17^th November at Stikkerstraat 10, Arnhem, and you can enroll for just 750 EUR (excl. VAT) by directly registering here.

REGISTER HERE

Dear customers,

IFS Management GmbH has announced the official publication of the IFS Food version 8 standard. IFS Food version 8 audits are possible from 1 October 2023 and become mandatory for all certified companies as of 1 January 2024.

In general, the applicability of version 7 ends on 31 December 2023. In some exceptional situations, IFS Food version 7 can apply after 1 January 2024. The general admission of these exceptions ends on 31 December 2024. Here is an overview:

For unannounced audits: Version 8 applies when the audit window starts on or after 1 October.

For multi-site audits: You need to audit sites and head office to the same version. After 1 January 2024, version 8 applies to all audits performed at the head office.
For follow-up audits: When the connected “main” audit took place according to version 7 before 1 January 2024, version 7 applies for the follow-up audit.
For extension audits: When the connected “main” audit took place according to version 7 before 1 January 2024, version 7 also applies for the extension audit

A number of changes have been implemented to the requirements part of the standard and the protocol. The IFS Food has been aligned with Codex Alimentarius and ISO 22003-2 and also the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements. The scoring system has been improved guiding the IFS certified companies towards continuous improvement in their performance. And a number of rules and administrative requirements have been optimized to meet the call for greater value and efficiency.

At Certima, we will be taking swift action to update our processes and incorporate the changes, and we will be providing certification for the standard as soon as it comes into effect.

We will launch soon numerous communications and events to inform you accordingly about the changes that the IFS certified companies should effectuate in their FSMS prior to their IFS Food 8 audits.

Improved customer service process

Taking into account your ongoing feedback, the complexity of all standard requirements (especially regarding unannounced audits), we are focused on making the process of planning and performing the audits more transparent, predictable and efficient.

In order to sustain and develop your business in the food supply chain, you need to operate efficiently and to assure the trust of your clients in your operations. You need to maintain your certification uninterrupted and expect from us to plan and perform the audit and certification process smoothly.

To be able to meet your expectations and these of standard owners, we need to assure that the information needed is gathered on time and taken into account throughout the whole certification cycle. We count on you to inform us in due course whenever significant changes occur in your operations during the validity of your certificate. From now on, we will prompt you to send us the information about expected changes in your production much in advance and we will rely on your cooperation and transparency. This will enable us to maintain a predictable and efficient auditing and certification process.

Of course, you will still continue to develop new products and introduce new processes whenever a need for that occurs. Once we are informed about this, we will do our best to take into account these changes and integrate them in the ongoing audit and certification process as much as possible. It is our focus to minimize additional audits and related costs. Whenever the changes are crucial for maintaining and/or extending your scope of certification, extensions are always possible.

To enable these improvements we have changed our cancellation terms from 3 to 6 month in our General Certification Conditions and IFS and BRC Certification agreement terms. You can find their latest versions here: https://certima.org/certima/downloads/. We would like to consider any objections or other feedback you might have about the changes and would like to hear from you till 12.05.2023.

Unannounced audits – ongoing learning and improvements
This year we go together through the challenges of Unannounced audits and only through efficient collaboration, we can assure that the audits are performed consistently. We are really pleased with the results until now. We did not experience critical situations with cancelled or not performed audits and we do not observe an increased number of critical NCs and suspension of certificates due to the unannounced character of the major part of the audits in the current period.

We are aware that this is possible only because of your good preparation and really appreciate your dedicated work. To continue the audit performance even more smoothly, we would like to draw your attention to some lessons learnt and possible improvements in preparing for the unannounced audits from your side:

Assure responsible people are available: Success at an unannounced audit relies upon the ability of the company to share information and knowledge within, to have effective deputies to cover in the absence of a particular manager, and a shared responsibility within the management team for food safety and compliance with the standard.

Assure auditor access and that all your products and technology processes can be demonstrated during the audit: We are aware that some processes are not running 24/7 but you still need to assure the operation of your processes during the audit. For this, the good preparation from your side is key. Think of organizing the prerequisites for full operation during the audit – the delivery of raw materials, the planning of production processes and shifts etc. If a fully operational production is not possible, we may find a solution through scope exclusions and extensions to enable the maintenance of certification for the needed scope.

Boosting the understanding of BRCGS issue 9 requirements
To maintain and boost the understanding of existing and newly introduced requirements in the BRCGS Food safety standard Certima holds the following courses throughout 2023:

• Issue 9: Conversion for Sites (1 day duration) – 6.06.2023; October 2023
• Internal auditor course (2 days duration) – 12-13.09.2023;
• Environmental monitoring – October/November 2023
• Food Safety Culture – October/November 2023

For the delivery of these courses we collaborate with Mr. Jan Jelle Spit. He is a BRCGS Food safety and S&D auditor and a dedicated and experienced trainer, delivering BRCGS recognized or client specific training courses. His years’ long and diverse industry and auditing experience are invaluable contribution to the competence of Certima team, as well as to our customers.

Expanding our auditor capacity to serve your audits

After finalizing the qualification of our new IFS auditor Mr. Jeroen van Loon in October 2022 who covers a wide range of product and technology scopes, we are announcing a new round of our proven auditor qualification program for IFS & BRC in the Netherlands.

It contains a customized package of focused trainings and exam preparatory activities that have proven their efficiency in our auditor qualification experience in the past 16 years. If you are interested in becoming an IFS or BRC auditor, you can find more information here: https://certima.org/become-an-independent-food-safety-auditor/  and join our next IFS In-house training course for candidate auditors – coming in September 2023 in English.

Certima Scores High across stakeholders and customers

We published recently our performance report for 2022 based on the positive evaluation of our customers and stakeholders.  Certima holds 5 stars with BRCGS since the beginning of its operation in 2019. At the latest KPI assessment we gained 98.21 % (5 stars requirement is >90). We score with 0 failures on a number of indicators of IFS, and high level of compliance and trust with RvA.

Check out our full performance report here

Please send all arising questions and requests to info@certima.org

Yours truly,

Certima team