IFS and BRC

IFS – International Food Standard

The IFS is an international German-French standard that unifies the requirements and principles of cash and carry enterprises, as all such enterprises, without exception, should be able to ensure the products they offer are safe to eat. IFS helps to ensure that all legal safety requirements have been reviewed and met and offers the trading partners of such enterprises the assurance that the products offered are handled in a standardized manner. As with the BRC, inspections are carried out by independent certification institutions.

BRC – British Retail Consorcium Scheme

This standard arose in the UK with the aim of unifying the exacting audits, which varied in many ways and placed high demands on suppliers to check the quality and safety of food, which was especially costly.

In 1998, therefore, British retailers came together to create one common standard for the whole sector, the BRC (British Retail Consortium Technical Standard and Protocol).

This standard specifies the requirements suppliers have to meet for the safety and wholesomeness of the products they supply directly to retailers.

Inspections are carried out by independent certification bodies. The manufacturer or supplier only has to pass one inspection and issue one report, which can then be used for all buyers. Retailers no longer have to carry out inspections themselves and can offer customers greater assurance of the quality and manufacturing/transport conditions of products with the label.

Both of these standards are among the requisite principles to be in a supplier position for an international retail chain.

What does introducing the IFS and BRC bring:

• planning, implementing, managing, maintaining and updating the product safety management system
• demonstrating the relevant statutory and other legislative requirements relating to product safety have been met
• identifying customer requirements for products and improving customer satisfaction
• sharing the product safety and security strategy with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders
• ensuring that the organization follows the set product safety policy