IFS Food Store Standard

IFS Food Store

IFS Food Store builds on the RAS standard of the French Federation of Trade and Retail (FCD), under which leading food retail operators in France review the safety of food products sold in their stores against defined measurable criteria. The requirements list was prepared as an independent, consistent, objective guidance, and as an interpretation reference that supports inspection bodies and qualified auditors in running those reviews correctly.

The RAS standard has international ambitions, and its revision and the outcomes of IFS Food Store are handled under the IFS brand. Building on that experience, IFS Food Store is a further standard in the IFS family. Its purpose is to cover regulations in each country, national health inspection schemes, good hygiene practice references for the trade, and the analysis of food safety across different store formats. The outcome is to raise the level of food safety for consumers. IFS Food Store activates different stores and retailers to plan action and improvement appropriately.

IFS Food Store Objectives

Alongside the core aim, IFS Food Store shares objectives with other IFS standards.

• Establish a shared standard with a single assessment network
• Operate through accredited inspection bodies with qualified auditors
• Provide transparency and comparability across retailer stores

IFS Food Store Scope

The IFS Food Store standard applies to the following retail practices:

• Support and management services
• Butchery
• Meat counter, deli, prepared foods without further processing
• Cheese and dairy
• Ready-to-eat counter
• Hot food and pizza
• Sandwiches
• Fresh fish
• Bakery and pastry
• Pastry and bakery / restaurant
• Fruit and vegetables
• Service-industry items
• Consumer food items
• Home delivery
• Promotions
• Other