What is IFS Food certification, and who asks Moroccan exporters for it?
IFS Food certification is a product and process certification: it confirms that a food site can make products that are safe, legal, authentic and compliant with its customers’ requirements. It is granted by a certification body accredited to ISO/IEC 17065 and under contract with IFS Management GmbH, after an on-site audit repeated every year.
The standard comes from retail. The official text of IFS Food Version 8 recalls that in 2003 the German retail federation (HDE) and its French counterpart (FCD) drew up a common standard to audit suppliers of private label food. IFS Management GmbH is still owned by these two federations. For a Moroccan exporter, the consequence is simple: demand comes first from retailers and brand owners in continental Europe, then from manufacturers who buy your products as ingredients and align their suppliers on the same standard.
The current version is Version 8. IFS states that Version 8 audits became possible on 1 October 2023 and have been mandatory since 1 January 2024. A project launched in 2027 therefore goes straight to Version 8 and its current doctrine. What changed since Version 7, and the doctrine published in April 2026, are covered in our article IFS Food Version 8 changes and timeline for 2026–2027.
IFS Food is a GFSI-recognised programme. The official GFSI page lists IFS Food v 8 for several scopes: pre-process handling of plant products (BIII), animal primary conversion and the processing of animal and plant products, perishable or ambient-stable (C0 to CIV), and the production of (bio)chemicals and bio-cultures used as food ingredients or processing aids (K).
An IFS certificate replaces no legal obligation. In Morocco, the prerequisite remains the health authorisation or approval of ONSSA, the Office National de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits Alimentaires, Morocco’s national food safety office. IFS Food comes on top of it as a commercial requirement.
Party | Role | What the site should expect |
|---|---|---|
IFS Management GmbH | Writes the standard and its doctrine, runs the IFS Database, monitors certification bodies and sites (IFS Integrity Program) | Normative rules, updated through the doctrine |
Certification body | Signs the contract, sets the audit duration and date, appoints an IFS-qualified auditor, reviews the report, decides | A contract, an audit time schedule, an action plan, a decision |
IFS Auditor | Scores each requirement and justifies every deviation in writing | Written findings and a closing meeting |
The site | Applies the standard, hosts the audit, corrects, notifies incidents | Responsibility for compliance, every day |
The consultant (optional) | Helps prepare the system and the teams | A method, never a certification decision |
If you are the importer rather than the supplier, the same logic applies in reverse: check that the standard and scope on the certificate match what you buy, the level achieved, and whether the site has passed an unannounced audit.
Should you choose between IFS, BRCGS and FSSC 22000? The buyer decides. Our GFSI standards comparison covers the twelve recognised programmes, and our guide to BRCGS certification in Morocco shows the logic of another standard.
What does the scope of an IFS Food Version 8 audit cover?
The whole site. The scope must include all activities, all production lines and all products manufactured on site, customer-branded and own-brand alike. Certification is site-specific: one legal entity, one address, one certificate.
IFS Food applies when a product is processed, or when there is a hazard of product contamination from primary packing. The scope is described as a combination of product scopes (eleven, from meat to pet food) and technology scopes, selected according to the processing steps involved: pasteurisation or sterilisation, preserving by salting, pickling or fermenting, freezing, packing under modified atmosphere, and so on. The description must be precise: “fish products” is refused, while “sardines in oil in seamed cans, retort-sterilised” is the level of detail expected.
The rules that surprise our clients most:
- no process exclusion, storage and transport included; excluding a product is in general not allowed, except under the conditions of Annex 4 of the standard;
- no brand and no claim in the certificate scope, except geographical indications under the EU regulation, with a disclaimer;
- partly outsourced processes (a step carried out off-site by a third party on behalf of the site) remain the site’s responsibility and must be controlled; the certificate says so;
- traded products and fully outsourced products are not covered by IFS Food; IFS recommends certifying these activities under IFS Broker or an equivalent GFSI-recognised standard, and the certificate states whether they are;
- lines must be running during the audit; a stopped line whose CCPs differ requires an extension audit.
Common situation in Morocco | IFS Food Version 8 rule | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
A cannery that also makes products under its own brand | Every product on site is in scope | No certificate limited to the buyer’s lines |
A table olive plant whose production peaks at harvest | The main audit takes place when the most hazardous processing step is carried out | An extension audit for the products not seen, every year |
A site that sends products to a neighbouring cold store for freezing | Partly outsourced process (third-party transport and storage are not) | The provider must be controlled; IFS Logistics or an equivalent GFSI-recognised certification is accepted for freezing only |
An exporter that resells spices bought already packed | Traded products, outside IFS Food | IFS Broker recommended; mandatory statement on the certificate |
A group with a head office in Casablanca and two plants | One audit and one certificate per production site | A head office audit is possible, always before the sites |
How does IFS scoring decide the certificate: Foundation or Higher level?
With a percentage. Each requirement receives a score (A, B, C, D, Major, KO), converted into points: 20 for an A, 15 for a B, 5 for a C, minus 20 for a D. The total possible is the number of applicable requirements multiplied by 20; the final score is the share of that total the site obtains.
The certificate status depends on that score and on the non-conformities. Chart 6 of the official text sets the thresholds.
Audit result | Status | Certificate |
|---|---|---|
Total score ≥ 95%, no Major, no KO scored D | Passed at Higher level, after receipt of the action plan | Higher level, 12-month validity, issued once the corrections are implemented |
Total score ≥ 75% and < 95%, no Major, no KO scored D | Passed at Foundation level | Foundation level, 12-month validity, issued once the corrections are implemented |
One Major only and total score ≥ 75% | Not passed until a successful follow-up audit | Foundation level only, if the Major is effectively solved |
More than one Major, total score < 75% or at least one KO scored D | Not passed | None; a new initial audit, no earlier than six weeks later |
Three points for a managing director:
- Higher level is easy to lose: a single Major non-conformity, even when closed at a successful follow-up audit, caps the certificate at Foundation level;
- a B is no longer harmless: since Version 8, a B is again classified as a deviation, with a correction and a corrective action due in the action plan;
- non-applicability must be justified: a requirement scored N/A is left out of the calculation, but the auditor must explain it in the report.
A buyer can require a level, not just a certificate. Ask for it in writing from the start: aiming for Higher level changes how deep the preparation must go.
What are the ten KO requirements of IFS Food Version 8?
They are ten requirements the standard treats as essential. A KO requirement can only be scored A (20 points), B (0 points, deviation) or D; there is no C. A D deducts 50% of the possible total and prevents the certificate from being issued. The list below follows Part 1 of the official text.
KO | Requirement | Subject | What the site must demonstrate | N/A possible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1.2.1 | Governance and commitment | Employees are aware of their responsibilities; identified, documented mechanisms monitor how effectively they operate | No |
2 | 2.3.9.1 | Monitoring system of each CCP | Method, frequency and recording of monitoring for each CCP, to detect any loss of control | Yes |
3 | 3.2.2 | Personal hygiene | Rules understood and applied by all relevant personnel, contractors and visitors | No |
4 | 4.1.3 | Customer agreement | Compliance with agreements on recipe, process, technological requirements, testing and monitoring plans, packaging and labelling | Yes |
5 | 4.2.1.3 | Raw material specifications | Up-to-date, unambiguous and legal specifications for ingredients, additives, packaging materials and rework | No |
6 | 4.12.1 | Foreign material risk mitigation | Risk-based procedures to prevent contamination; contaminated products treated as non-conforming | No |
7 | 4.18.1 | Traceability | The link between product lots and batches of raw materials and food contact packaging, from receipt to delivery | No |
8 | 5.1.1 | Internal audits | A programme covering all IFS requirements, planned within 12 months and carried out within 15 months at most | No |
9 | 5.9.1 | Recalls, withdrawals and incidents | An effective procedure, with an authorised person permanently available and an up-to-date alert contact list | No |
10 | 5.11.3 | Corrective actions | Actions formulated, documented and implemented to prevent recurrence, with responsibilities and timescales | No |
The standard states that N/A can apply to any requirement except KO requirements numbers 1, 3 and 5 to 10. Only CCP monitoring and customer agreements can therefore be declared not applicable, with a written justification.
The effect of a KO scored D goes beyond the audit. At recertification, the certification body must withdraw the current certificate in the IFS Database at the latest two working days after the last audit day, with an explanation in English. Database users who have the site in their favourites list receive an e-mail. For an exporter, this is commercial information as much as an audit result.
How to test each KO yourself, evidence by evidence, is the subject of our how-to on IFS Food audit preparation.
What are the steps from gap analysis to certificate?
Annex 2 of the standard describes seven steps, from the company’s decision to the certification decision. The site precedes them with its own preparation, and that preparation is what decides the score.
Step | Who | Official rule or deadline |
|---|---|---|
Self-assessment and gap analysis | The site, with or without a consultant | Read the current versions of the standard and the doctrine; a voluntary pre-audit, not uploaded to the database |
Implementation | The site | All requirements in place and validated, through internal audits and a management review, before the initial audit; IFS recommends three months of operations for a new site |
Contract | The site and the certification body | Scope, audit duration, IFS Integrity Program, data in the IFS Database; information on products, outsourcing, destination countries and certification history |
Audit duration and date | The certification body | Mandatory IFS Calculation Tool; date set when the products in scope are being processed |
Audit | The auditor | Short opening meeting, at least 50% of the time in production areas, document review, closing meeting |
Action plan | The auditor, then the site | Issued at the latest two weeks after the audit; evidence of corrections and corrective actions within four weeks |
Decision and certificate | The certification body | Technical review, decision by someone other than the auditor, report and certificate uploaded six to eight weeks after the last audit day |
A first initial audit can be announced or unannounced. For a first certification, we generally advise an announced audit: it lets you set the date around production and gather the full team. The IFS certification hub describes our seven-step method; a realistic budget and timeline for such a project are covered in IFS Food certification cost and duration.
Before signing with a certification body, check these points:
What happens after the first certificate?
An annual cycle begins. The certificate is valid from its date of issue until the last day of the initial audit, plus eight weeks minus one day, plus one year. The audit due date remains tied to the initial audit, even if the recertification date varies from one year to the next.
Recertification. An announced audit is scheduled between eight weeks before and two weeks after the audit due date. The IFS Database sends a reminder three months before the certificate expires. An audit outside this window breaks the cycle: the site must start again with a new initial audit.
Unannounced audits. At least one audit in every three must be unannounced. The certification body decides the year of the first unannounced audit and informs the site at least six months before the audit due date. The window runs from sixteen weeks before to two weeks after that date. A site that has undergone an unannounced audit obtains IFS Star status, visible on the certificate; the status is withdrawn at the next announced audit.
Incidents. Requirement 1.2.6 requires the site to inform the certification body within three working days in specific situations, such as a product recall; the IFS Food 8 doctrine, version 5 gives the list.
Monitoring by IFS. A certified site must accept IFS Integrity Program checks, generally unannounced (notice is given 30 minutes before the start). A Major or KO non-conformity found during such a check has the same effect on the certificate as one found in an audit.
Failure. More than one Major, a score below 75% or a KO scored D mean a full new initial audit, no earlier than six weeks later. The report of a failed initial audit is uploaded to the IFS Database; it never counts as a pre-audit.
Maintenance rests on internal audits spread over the year, a management review and close monitoring of the doctrine. Many sites hand the internal audit, or the mock audit before each deadline, to a third party: see our audits and inspections. Our table olive exporter case study shows these rules applied to a seasonal Moroccan plant.