Tag Archives: IFS Integrity

Doctrines serve as authoritative interpretations of how specific requirements should be understood and applied. They are not optional guidance. They define the expected approach during certification audits. In April 2026, IFS published updated doctrines across three of its core standards. Updates reflect accumulated audit experience, emerging regulatory priorities, and feedback from the certification ecosystem. When…

Food fraud vulnerability assessment is a requirement under both IFS Food and BRCGS. It is designed to identify where fraudulent activity could enter the supply chain and to inform the controls put in place to reduce that risk. In practice, vulnerability assessments vary significantly in depth and relevance. Some reflect the supply chain as it…

IFS Food and BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 are both widely accepted by retailers and buyers across Europe and globally. Both assess food safety management systems against structured requirements. Both result in a certificate that supports market access. The differences lie in structure, emphasis, and how each standard approaches specific areas of risk. For some…

A certification audit confirms that a supplier’s food safety management system meets defined requirements at the time of assessment. It provides a structured, impartial evaluation against an international standard.Shruti Baa G A supplier audit serves a different purpose. It assesses whether a specific supplier relationship presents risks relevant to your own products, processes, and customer…

Retailers and manufacturers place significant trust in certification bodies to assess their supply chain honestly and independently. That relationship carries real weight, since certification decisions can directly affect commercial standing, regulatory compliance, and customer confidence. That trust deserves the same scrutiny any other supplier relationship would receive. Impartiality, accreditation, and auditor independence are not assumptions…

As a supplier portfolio grows, so does the variation behind it. Different auditors, different regions, and different interpretations of the same standard can quietly enter a supplier program over time. On paper, every supplier holds a valid certificate. In practice, what that certificate represents can differ more than most procurement and quality teams realise. This…

Certification is, by design, a point in time assessment. It answers whether requirements were met on the day of the audit. It does not answer where pressure is accumulating in a supply chain, or which findings are early signals of a larger issue still forming. Retailers and manufacturers relying solely on certificate status may be…

Are traditional culture methods still enough when results are needed within hours, not days? Advancements in rapid microbiological testing are transforming how contamination risks are detected and verified. From ATP bioluminescence to qPCR platforms, faster validation methods are helping manufacturers act sooner in contamination control.   Recent Developments — Portable Detection Devices On-site testing now…

If your CAPA report is perfect, why are auditors still flagging the same issues year after year?   Certification body data from 2025 shows that repeat findings are among the most persistent non-conformities across food manufacturing. Many are not due to missing documentation but because follow-up actions are never fully implemented.   Key Patterns Identified…