IFS Logistics, IFS Broker or IFS PACsecure: Which Standard Fits?

What is the difference between IFS Logistics, IFS Broker and IFS PACsecure?

Each one certifies a different activity in the supply chain. IFS Logistics covers logistics services, IFS Broker covers trading and IFS PACsecure covers packaging manufacturing. All three are published by IFS Management GmbH, the company of the German (HDE) and French (FCD) retail federations, which also publishes IFS Food. They are audited by certification bodies that are accredited and under contract with IFS.

The table below summarises what the official texts in force say.

The right question is not “what do you sell?” but “what do you physically do with the product?”. Does the site process the product or the packaging? Then it falls under a product standard: IFS Food, IFS HPC or IFS PACsecure. Does it store, transport or handle the product without processing it? IFS Logistics. Does it buy and resell the product without ever taking possession of it? IFS Broker. Our IFS certification hub presents the whole family; for IFS Food itself, see our IFS Food Version 8 guide.

IFS Logistics: which logistics providers does it cover?

All transport and storage providers, for food and non-food products alike. The IFS Logistics version 3 standard covers loading, transport by road, rail, ship or air, unloading, storage under controlled or ambient temperature, handling and distribution. Version 3 audits have been possible since 1 June 2024 and mandatory since 1 December 2024.

The standard also covers less obvious cases:

• a logistics company that subcontracts all or part of its transport or storage;
• a company that organises transport without owning any trucks;
• a company that stores or transports containers for short periods on its own container park.

Alongside the main storage service, five logistics processing services stay in scope: freezing and thawing, ripening of fruit and vegetables, simple sorting of fruit and vegetables on qualitative criteria, packing of pre-packed products, and labelling that applies existing labels to packed products intended for the final consumer. A banana ripening warehouse, or a platform that relabels products for a retailer, therefore remains under IFS Logistics.

The standard does not apply to processing products, to importing and trading with purchasing activities (the territory of IFS Broker) or to transporting live animals. Exclusions are generally not permitted: a warehouse cannot exclude the transport of frozen vegetables if it certifies their storage.

A manufacturer that stores and delivers its own products does not need IFS Logistics. Those activities are audited under its own standard, in the storage and transport chapters. IFS Logistics becomes relevant when the site stores goods for third parties, or when a customer requires a separate logistics certificate.

The six KO requirements of IFS Logistics version 3 are: senior management responsibility (1.2.1), the product safety management system (2.2.1.1), monitoring of each critical control point, or CCP (2.2.3.6), customer agreements (4.1.3), internal audits (5.1.1) and corrective actions (5.9.2). Only CCP monitoring can be scored not applicable.

At least one audit in every three has been unannounced since 1 January 2021, whatever the version. The certification body decides the year and informs the site at least six months before the audit due date; the audit then falls between 16 weeks before and two weeks after that date. For a cold store, the difference with BRCGS Storage and Distribution Issue 4 comes down to the services provided and to the buyers: our BRCGS Storage and Distribution page compares the two standards, and our Tanger Med cold store case study shows that choice in practice.

IFS Broker: when does a trader or an importer need it?

When it buys and resells products without handling them. The IFS Broker version 3.2 standard names four functions: the broker or middleman, who negotiates on behalf of others for a fee or commission; the sales agent, appointed by a manufacturer to sell in a given territory; the trader or dealer, who buys and sells; and the importer, who brings goods in from another country to sell them. The trade can involve food, household and personal care products, or packaging materials.

The decisive criterion is written into the text: IFS Broker applies to companies, whether or not they own the goods, that typically do not take physical possession of the products. No warehouse, no packing station, no truck fleet. What the audit assesses is the compliance of the service provided: how the trader selects and monitors its suppliers and service providers, how it enforces its customers’ specifications, how it ensures traceability and how it would manage a recall.

Three situations come up often in Morocco:

• The exporting trader without a warehouse, who buys spices, pulses or canned goods from packers and resells them to European importers: the textbook IFS Broker case.
• The trader that owns a warehouse and wants it certified: it needs a combined IFS Broker and IFS Logistics audit, with a minimum duration of 1.25 days. Without a combined audit, the IFS Broker certificate states that its logistics activities are not IFS Logistics certified.
• The manufacturer that also resells bought-in products: these traded products are not covered by IFS Food or IFS PACsecure. A combined audit with IFS Broker gives two reports and two certificates.

The most demanding requirement for a Moroccan trader is 4.4.4: the supplier shall be certified against an IFS standard or another GFSI-recognised standard covering its activity. An exception is possible only if the customer expressly accepts other conditions. For a trader that buys from small, uncertified producers, this is often the first work stream.

The eight KO requirements of IFS Broker 3.2 cover senior management responsibility (1.2.2), the risk management system (2.3.1), compliance with customer specifications (4.2.2), the traceability system (4.6.1), internal audits (5.1.1), analyses demanded by the customer (5.2.2), the withdrawal and recall procedure (5.5.2) and corrective actions (5.7.2). Only requirement 5.2.2 can be scored not applicable.

The audit lasts at least six hours. The official IFS Broker fact sheet allows an on-site or a remote audit, if the company and the certification body agree and the communication tools allow it. The unannounced audit is an option, which then replaces the annual announced audit. The BRCGS equivalent is Agents and Brokers Issue 3. Step-by-step preparation is covered in our article on IFS Broker audit preparation.

IFS PACsecure: which packaging manufacturers can it certify?

Those that produce, process, convert or print packaging themselves. According to the IFS PACsecure version 3 standard, it applies to packaging components and materials intended as primary or secondary packaging for food, cosmetics and personal hygiene products, household products and, more broadly, any product within the scope of the IFS standards. It also covers secondary packaging for over-the-counter medicines. Version 3 audits have been possible since 1 July 2024 and mandatory since 1 October 2024.

The scope is described with seven product scopes: flexible plastic, rigid plastic, paper and board, metals and alloys, glass and ceramic, other natural materials, other packaging components. A multi-component material is assigned to its main component, the one present in the highest percentage by weight.

The rules that most often surprise converters:

• no exclusion of production processes, storage and transport included; excluding a product remains exceptional and follows the exclusion tree in Annex 4;
• traded products are not covered: a tray maker that resells films bought from another manufacturer must declare it on its certificate, and IFS recommends IFS Broker for those products;
• the words “storage”, “transport”, “sales” or “design” do not appear in the scope description: these activities are always audited;
• brands and claims have no place on the certificate.

The ten KO requirements follow the numbering of IFS Food Version 8: senior management responsibility (1.2.1), monitoring of each CCP (2.3.9.1), personal hygiene (3.2.2), customer agreements (4.1.3), raw material specifications (4.2.1.3), foreign material and chemical risks (4.12.1), traceability (4.18.1), internal audits (5.1.1), recalls and incidents (5.9.1) and corrective actions (5.11.3).

The audit lasts at least two days on site. The doctrine adds at least four hours for a production area of 5,000 to 10,000 m², and eight hours above that. At least one audit in three is unannounced.

IFS PACsecure shares GFSI scope I with BRCGS Packaging Materials Issue 7. Our BRCGS Packaging Materials Issue 7 guide covers the other option. Neither replaces regulatory compliance, and in particular the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), applicable since 12 August 2026: see our PPWR and packaging page.

How does scoring decide the certificate in each of the three standards?

In the same way in all three. The official IFS scoring brochure, version 2.4 published in November 2024, applies to IFS Food Version 8, IFS Logistics version 3, IFS Broker version 3.2 and IFS PACsecure version 3.

Each requirement receives a score: A (20 points), B (15), C (5), D (minus 20). A Major non-conformity, possible on any non-KO requirement, deducts 15% of the possible total. A KO requirement can only be scored A, B (0 points) or D, and a D deducts 50% of the total. The percentage is the points obtained divided by the possible total, which is the number of applicable requirements multiplied by 20.

After the audit, the certification body sends the provisional report and the outline action plan within two weeks. The site then has four weeks to return its action plan and the evidence of its corrections. The certification decision comes no later than six to eight weeks after the audit. A KO scored D or a Major at a recertification audit leads to the withdrawal or suspension of the current certificate within two working days, in the IFS Database that buyers consult.

A site that passes an unannounced audit obtains IFS Star status, shown on its certificate; it loses that status at the next announced audit.

IFS Progress: what entry point if you are not ready yet?

IFS Progress is the new name of IFS Global Markets. IFS announced it on 28 March 2024: only the name changed, not the content. The old name could be used until 14 May 2024. Four programmes exist: IFS Progress Food (version 3), Logistics, PACsecure and HPC (version 1 each). They target suppliers of food, logistics services, packaging and household and personal care products; IFS does not list an IFS Progress programme for trading.

The principle is the same everywhere: a non-accredited assessment, carried out by a certification body or an assessment service provider, in two levels. For IFS Progress PACsecure, the basic level covers about 40% of the IFS PACsecure requirements and the intermediate level about 75%. For IFS Progress Logistics, the official fact sheet gives 45%, then 70%. Each level should not last more than one year, unless agreed with business partners, and the aim is to reach the full standard within three years at most.

The outcome is not a certificate but a letter of confirmation, valid for 12 months. IFS Progress does not appear on the GFSI page of recognised programmes. Before taking this route, get the buyer’s agreement in writing. Our IFS Progress PACsecure case study follows a young packaging manufacturer from the basic level to IFS PACsecure certification.

Which steps lead to the certificate?

The three standards describe the same process, from the company’s decision to the certification body’s decision. How long preparation takes depends mainly on the starting gap: we cover this in IFS Logistics certification cost, Broker and PACsecure compared.

Before you call a certification body, check these points:

• Each customer has confirmed in writing the standard required (IFS Logistics, IFS Broker, IFS PACsecure, or an equivalent GFSI-recognised standard) and the level expected.
  
• The site’s real activities are listed: processing, storage for its own account or for third parties, transport, trading.
  
• Activities outside the scope (a trader’s warehouse, a manufacturer’s trading) have a decided treatment: combined audit or statement on the certificate.
  
• The list of suppliers and service providers shows their certification status.
  
• The site’s working language is known, so that the certification body can appoint a suitable auditor.
  
• A project lead and a deputy are named, both able to host an unannounced audit.
  
• The internal audit programme already covers every requirement of the target standard.