IFS Launches Software to Convert IFS Audit Reports into ISO 22000 Reports

Berlin, Germany/St. Louis, USA -- The IFS audit support software auditXpress, a proprietary software solution for the development of IFS audit reports and facilitation of the export of completed audits to the IFS audit portal, will be upgraded with a new tool to convert IFS audit reports into ISO 22000 reports.

The new auditXpress software tool will make it possible to convert IFS audit reports into a combined ISO 22000/ISO TS 22002-1 report. This new, innovative feature is based on the comparison of IFS and ISO 22000/ISO TS 22002-1 and offers a value-added benefit for all IFS-certified companies who have a need for an audit report and certificate satisfying both customer and regulatory requirements.

IFS certification meets all requirements of ISO 22000 / ISO TS 22002-1 norms. However, there are many IFS requirements not covered by the ISO 22000 family -- for example, customer focus and quality.

This system provides a clear advantage for the food industry by reducing cost, saving time, and giving the manufacturer the chance to fulfil both food safety and quality requirements along with management systems certification in one audit. By performing an IFS audit a company can earn two reports and certificates -- one for IFS certification, and the other for ISO 22000 / ISO 22002-1. The company will be able to present an ISO report and certificate to regulatory authorities and an IFS certificate to their customers with only one audit.

The responsibility of converting an IFS audit report into a combined ISO 22000/ISO 22002-1 report lies with the certification body that provided the facility audit. The certification body must ensure that all rules of ISO and IFS are respected during the audit when the intent is to issue an ISO audit report, an ISO 22000/ISO 22002-1 certificate, and an IFS certificate. The certification body must hold current accreditation on ISO 17021 and have qualified ISO auditors in addition to their IFS accreditation on EN 45011. IFS allows the auditor to perform a combined audit if the
auditor has both appropriate ISO and IFS qualifications,.

Available at the end of March, 2011 for all IFS certification bodies currently using the IFS auditXpress Food bundle, it will be provided without any extra cost via the integrated online update service. The IFS auditXpress Food bundle delivers the software to write audit reports for IFS Food, IFS Food/Food Defense and IFS Cash & Carry.

More information about IFS can be found at www.ifs-certification.com or by contacting Stephan Tromp (Berlin, Germany) at  [email protected], (+011) 49.30.726.250.95 or  George Gansner (St. Louis, Mo.) at [email protected],  (+01) 314.686.4610.

About IFS: International Featured Standards (IFS) is an umbrella brand for globally recognized safety and quality standards in Food, Logistics, Cash & Carry/Wholesale, Broker, and Household and Personal Care (HPC). IFS Food is a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-benchmarked uniform quality assurance and food safety Standard accepted by retailers worldwide. It is intended to allow the assessment of suppliers’ food safety and quality systems in accordance with a uniform approach and applies to all post-farm gate stages of food processing. More than
12,000 IFS audits were conducted in 2010 by 67 certification bodies in more than 90 countries around the world.