Insights

Analysis, guides and standards timelines for exporting manufacturers: GFSI, ISO, HACCP, training, ESG and audits.

GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026Which Food Safety Certification to Export? Choosing a GFSI StandardTo know which certification to aim for when exporting, start from your buyers, not from countries. The method has six steps: list customers and prospects, get their requirements in writing, map the site to a GFSI scope, check recognition, cross-check the answers in a matrix, then confirm the choice with a certification body.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026GFSI Standard for an Exporter in Morocco: A Three-Buyer Case StudyTypical case: a biscuit factory near Casablanca, authorised by ONSSA, sells to a British importer, a German retailer and a Gulf distributor. The written requirements impose BRCGS and IFS Food; the third customer accepts either, plus a halal certificate. The outcome: one common foundation, two audits, two unannounced audit calendars.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026GLOBALG.A.P. Inspection Preparation: IFA v6 Checklist for the SoussPreparing for a GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 inspection means running the system through a real season, then checking it yourself. A farm or packhouse in Morocco’s Souss starts with a complete self-assessment, then checks four areas the auditor cross-checks in the field: records, plant protection products, water and seasonal crews.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026GLOBALG.A.P. Option 2 Producer Group Case Study: Berries and GRASPComposite case study: a cooperative of blueberry and raspberry growers in Souss-Massa, southern Morocco, prepares its first GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 GFS certification under Option 2, with GRASP, for a UK retailer. Three issues decided the project: the high-risk classification of members, the group’s management system and the harvest crews.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026FSSC 22000 Version 7 Changes: Every New Requirement, ExplainedFSSC 22000 Version 7 changes three things for a certified site: its prerequisite programmes move to ISO 22002-100:2025 and the sector standards, several additional requirements are clarified or extended, and audit duration is calculated differently. The rest is aimed at certification bodies: auditors, audit reports and the governance of artificial intelligence.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026FSSC 22000 v7 Audit Duration: New Rules and Certification BodiesUnder Version 7, the duration of an FSSC 22000 audit is calculated with a new FSSC time, with no reduction of the base duration allowed and with an exemption widened to small sites. Certification bodies must also requalify their auditors and govern their use of AI. Depending on your headcount, the audit gets shorter, stays the same or grows slightly.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026IFS Broker Audit: A Preparation Guide for Moroccan TradersA Moroccan trader that processes nothing prepares its IFS Broker 3.2 audit around four pieces of evidence: suppliers that are certified or accepted in writing by the customer, up-to-date specifications, traceability tested from supplier to customer, and a recall procedure that works. The auditor follows a few products from the purchase file to delivery.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026IFS Logistics, IFS Broker or IFS PACsecure: Which Standard Fits?IFS Logistics certifies providers that transport, store or distribute products; IFS Broker certifies traders, agents and importers that never take physical possession of the goods; IFS PACsecure certifies packaging manufacturers and converters. All three use the IFS scoring system, with a certificate from 75%. The right choice depends on what the site does, not on what it sells.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026IFS Logistics Certification Cost: Broker and PACsecure ComparedThe cost of an IFS Logistics, IFS Broker or IFS PACsecure project comes down to four items: internal time, optional consultancy support, works and testing, and the audit. IFS sets the minimum audit duration: six hours for IFS Broker, one day for IFS Logistics, two days for IFS PACsecure. But the starting gap weighs the most.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026IFS Food Version 8: The 10 KO Requirements That Fail AuditsIFS Food Version 8 has ten KO requirements. A KO scored D subtracts 50% of the total possible points and blocks the certificate, whatever the rest of the audit looks like. For an African supplier to German, French or Italian retailers, securing these ten points comes before any other audit preparation.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026IFS Food Audit Preparation: Documents, KO Requirements, ChecklistPreparing an IFS Food Version 8 audit means gathering the information and documents the certification body will cross-check, testing the ten KO requirements yourself evidence by evidence, organising for an unannounced audit and anticipating the action plan: issued within two weeks, it leaves four weeks to prove the corrections.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026IFS Food Certification in Morocco: The Complete Version 8 GuideIFS Food certification in Morocco confirms, after an audit by an accredited certification body, that a food site meets IFS Food Version 8, mandatory since 1 January 2024. The score decides the certificate: Foundation level from 75%, Higher level from 95%, provided none of the ten KO requirements is scored D.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026IFS Food Certification Cost in Morocco: Duration and Key FactorsThe cost of IFS Food certification in Morocco depends on the starting gap, site works, the team’s time, the audit duration set by IFS’s mandatory calculation tool (two days at least) and the result: a Major non-conformity or a KO scored D adds an audit. No serious figure exists without a gap analysis and quotes.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026IFS Food Certification Case Study: A Moroccan Table Olive ExporterCase study: a table olive and sauce plant in the Fès-Meknès region, approved by ONSSA, Morocco’s food safety authority, must obtain IFS Food Version 8 to supply a German retailer’s private label. What decides the outcome: a scope covering the whole site, customer agreements applied on the line, monitored CCPs and traceability down to the tank.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026Packaging Hygiene and Contamination Control: BRCGS Issue 7 ChecklistIn a packaging plant, hygiene is not picked from a catalogue: BRCGS Packaging Materials Issue 7 asks you to scale it to the risk and to the product’s intended use. The method has six steps: HARA, zones, foreign bodies, chemicals and migration, validated cleaning, people. You then check it on the shop floor with a checklist by material.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026BRCGS Packaging and PPWR Case Study: A Flexible Packaging PrinterComposite case: a flexo printer of flexible packaging near Casablanca, certified to ISO 9001, must obtain BRCGS Packaging Materials Issue 7 for two European food brands, which also send their PPWR questionnaire. What unlocked the project: a written scope, a HARA centred on migration and a single evidence file.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026BRCGS Certification Audit: Preparing the Day and Closing Out GapsTreat BRCGS certification audit day as an operation: planning information sent to the certification body, documents filed by requirement, senior management at the opening and closing meetings, deputies named, traceability test rehearsed. After the audit, the site has 28 days to submit its corrections, root cause analysis and preventive action plan.
GFSI standardsNovember 5, 2026BRCGS Certification Case Study: A Frozen Berry Plant in MoroccoCase study: a berry freezing plant in Morocco’s Loukkos region, approved by ONSSA, the national food safety office, seeks its first BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 certificate for a UK importer. What decides the outcome: a written scope, a first announced audit timed with the season, evidence on the fundamental requirements and a plan for unannounced audits.