IFS Food Certification in Tangier

In Tangier, a food product passes through warehouses, docks and trucks as much as through factories. ACG supports processors, logistics providers and traders of the region towards IFS Food version 8 and IFS Logistics, with consultants who work on your site.

Tangier · we work on site

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The standard and who requires it in Tangier

The IFS family has several standards, and in Tangier several of them may concern the same supply chain. IFS Food version 8, mandatory since 1 January 2024, assesses sites that manufacture or process food. IFS Logistics, in version 3, assesses the transport, storage, distribution, loading and unloading of food or non-food products, chilled or at ambient temperature. IFS Broker targets traders and importers who process nothing.

Buyers in the region look north. Spanish importers, continental European distributors, European manufacturers who buy seafood or ingredients: all expect from their Moroccan suppliers a recognised certificate, and many add their own requirements on the cold chain and the security of loads. A Tangier site must therefore know precisely which standard matches its activity, and have its customer confirm it in writing before launching the project.

Who it is for in Tangier

Fish and seafood processors in Tangier and Tetouan, who prepare, freeze or pack for Europe, fall under IFS Food. The same goes for food units in the Tanger Med industrial zones and the Tanger Free Zone that manufacture for export, and for workshops that open and repack products.

Bonded warehouses, cold platforms and hauliers who handle other companies' goods are the natural target of IFS Logistics. This standard makes sense in a city where logistics holds a central place, provided food products represent a real share of the activity. Trading companies that buy in Morocco to resell in Spain, or the reverse, may be asked for IFS Broker.

A company that combines several trades, for example a processor who also runs a warehouse for third parties, does not have to choose: IFS states that an IFS Logistics audit can be combined with other IFS audits.

Industry in Tangier

Tangier has been transformed around its port complex. Tanger Med, a major Mediterranean container port, links Morocco to Europe and to the main sea routes. Around it have developed the Tanger Free Zone, Tanger Automotive City and the Tanger Med industrial zones, with a large car-assembly plant at Melloussa and its suppliers, automotive wiring, textiles and clothing for European brands, aeronautics and a range of logistics trades.

Food processing plays a different role there from the one it holds in the Souss or the Gharb. Tangier is first of all a place of passage and exchange: seafood, fruit and vegetables and processed products arrive there, are stored, consolidated or repacked, then cross the Strait to Spain and the rest of Europe. The trade in food products and seafood with Spain structures part of the activity, and nearby Tetouan completes this fabric.

For IFS certification, this position has two consequences. First, many sites do not manufacture in the strict sense: they store, transport or handle. The choice between IFS Food, IFS Logistics and IFS Broker is the first decision of the project, and a mistake at this stage costs time. Second, the passage through a port, a free zone and several hauliers multiplies the moments when a product is exposed: waiting on a dock, cold break, poorly cleaned truck, missing or unchecked seal. Control of service providers and protection against malicious acts therefore carry particular weight here.

What buyers ask for in Tangier

European customers of a Tangier site ask for the certificate that matches its trade: IFS Food for a processor, IFS Logistics or a recognised equivalent for a provider, IFS Broker for a trader. They check that the scope covers exactly the products and activities bought. For IFS Logistics, IFS Broker and IFS PACsecure, the current versions are still going through GFSI benchmarking: it is better to ask the buyer which one it expects.

In a cold warehouse or platform, nonconformities come back on the same subjects: temperature recording and alarms, checks on receipt and at loading, cleanliness and condition of trucks, side-by-side storage of food and non-food products, pest control in very open buildings. In a seafood workshop, the audit insists on the cold chain, separation of zones and authenticity of the declared species.

On the IFS Food side, KO no. 5 requires a specification for each raw material: a processor who buys fish from several suppliers must set species, origin and acceptance criteria in it. KO no. 9, on recalls and withdrawals, is exposed as soon as a batch passes through several warehouses and several countries.

How we work in Tangier

Step 1. Gap analysis
Step 2. Scoping
Step 3. Documentation
Step 4. Implementation
Step 5. Mock audit
Step 6. Certification audit
Step 7. Maintenance

Our consultants leave from our offices in Rabat and Kenitra and travel to your site, in Tangier, Tanger Med or Tetouan, for all steps that happen in the field. The diagnostic begins with a complete walk through the flows: truck arrival, docks, cold rooms, picking areas, dispatch. This is where the applicable standard is decided, before any drafting.

For a logistics provider, the mission is organised around real operations. We follow a loading, an unloading and a check on receipt, we review temperature records with the operations team, and we train dock supervisors as much as quality managers. Sites that run continuously call for visits at varied hours, to check that the rules hold with every team.

Between trips, follow-up goes through the firm's digital tools: shared action plan, remote review of procedures, short meetings with the IFS lead. The mock audit reproduces an IFS audit, scoring included, and can be conducted without notice. The certification audit is then carried out by an accredited body chosen by the company; we can attend to support the team.

Funding

For Moroccan companies, project training (IFS Food Version 8, HACCP, internal audit, food defence) can fall under OFPPT special training contracts (CSF), with training needs engineering through a GIAC, under the rules in force and based on the vocational training tax the company declares. ACG is CSF-eligible: we build the file with you and simulate the possible reimbursement, without promising an amount. For consultancy, an eligible SME can apply to Maroc PME’s PACT’Qualité programme; Maroc PME decides eligibility. The certification audit remains the company’s cost.

Training engineering and funding (CSF, GIAC)

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Frequently asked questions

Warehouse in the Tanger Free Zone: IFS Logistics or IFS Food?

If the warehouse stores, transports or handles products that belong to other companies, without processing them, IFS Logistics is the intended standard. As soon as it processes the product or changes its packaging, the question of IFS Food arises. The scope is fixed with the certification body, before the audit, from a precise description of operations.

Can IFS Food and IFS Logistics be combined on the same site?

Yes. IFS states that an IFS Logistics audit can be combined with other IFS audits. This is useful for a processor who also runs a warehouse on behalf of third parties. The documentary system can remain common, but each standard is assessed against its own requirements.

Is transport to Spain within the scope of the IFS Food audit?

Yes, as an activity to be controlled, whether your trucks make the trip or a haulier handles it: loading conditions, vehicle cleaning, temperature, requirements written into the contract. The auditor asks for concrete evidence: temperature records, truck checks before loading, seal monitoring.

How do we prepare for an unannounced audit on a site that runs continuously?

As at least one IFS audit in three is unannounced, every team must be able to receive the auditor: a trained lead per shift, records kept up to date continuously, management reachable. The mock audit without notice makes it possible to test this arrangement before the real deadline.

Do your consultants travel to Tangier and Tetouan?

Yes. They come from Rabat or Kenitra and work on your site for the diagnostic, training, field verification and mock audit. Between trips, follow-up is done remotely. Contact: +212 661 863 618, contact@afflatusconsulting.com.

What makes the scale of an IFS Logistics project vary?

The number of buildings and cold rooms, the temperature ranges managed, the share of food and non-food products, the use of subcontracted hauliers and the state of temperature monitoring. The diagnostic measures these elements before any proposal.