What is IFS Food? Key requirements food businesses need to know

IFS Food is a standard for assessing products and production processes that is widely used by food businesses across international supply chains. The current version is IFS Food 8, with a strong focus on risk assessment, management responsibility and the ability to demonstrate effective implementation in practice. Pest management is also an area that businesses need to manage, monitor and evaluate using data.

1. What is IFS Food?

IFS Food is a standard for assessing food manufacturing sites, particularly where products are processed or where product safety or quality may be affected during packaging. The standard helps businesses demonstrate their ability to produce safe products that comply with legal requirements and agreed customer specifications.

IFS Food 8 is the current version in 2026. IFS continues to publish and update guidance documents to clarify technical requirements for businesses, certification bodies and auditors.

A key feature of IFS Food is its risk-based approach to assessment. Businesses need to establish controls that reflect their products, processes and production environment rather than applying the same measures across every facility. Businesses can also review common pest control requirements across major manufacturing standards and systems to understand similarities and differences between IFS Food, BRCGS, FSSC 22000, HACCP, GMP, AIB and other systems.

2. What requirements does IFS Food focus on?

IFS Food assesses multiple elements of a food safety and quality management system, including management responsibility, management systems, resource management, operational processes, measurement, analysis and improvement. These requirements are linked to actual production practices so that risks can be managed throughout operations.

Auditors review both documented systems and actual site conditions. Documented procedures need to be implemented in practice, personnel need to understand their responsibilities, and deviations need to be managed through the established system. This also means that a facility should not evaluate its pest management programme solely by the number of treatment visits. A pest management system should be able to demonstrate effective control through site conditions, monitoring devices, data and supporting audit documentation.

Sanitation, maintenance, waste management and pest management programmes therefore play an important role in maintaining controlled production conditions. In food and beverage facilities, these factors should be assessed by area, from the external perimeter and raw material receiving through storage, production and packaging. See more about how to identify and manage pests across different risk zones in F&B facilities

3. What does IFS Food require for pest management?

IFS emphasises that pest management measures should be risk-based and documented. Businesses need to identify pest risks within the facility environment, position suitable monitoring devices, define responsibilities and maintain an appropriate inspection frequency.

When an external pest control provider is used, the facility still retains responsibility for overseeing the programme. Service agreements, provider competence, inspection records and corrective actions should be clearly controlled and documented. Businesses should therefore evaluate providers not only on their ability to treat pests, but also on their IPM capability, data transparency and audit support.

Each instance of pest activity should be recorded. Actions taken after an inspection should also be followed up so that the business can determine whether the issue has been effectively addressed or has recurred.

4. What requirements should pest monitoring and control devices meet?

Traps, monitoring stations and insect-control devices should be functional, appropriately selected and provided in suitable numbers, with placement designed to minimise the risk of product contamination. This is reflected in IFS guidance on pest monitoring and control.

Device placement should therefore be based on site assessment and the behaviour and activity patterns of the target pests. Insect light traps should be positioned along relevant insect movement or interception routes; rodent stations should reflect identified risk areas; and monitoring traps should generate meaningful data rather than simply being distributed widely.

Device condition should also be checked regularly. A light trap that is still illuminated or a monitoring station that remains in place is not, by itself, sufficient evidence that the device is functioning effectively. For hygiene-sensitive food production areas, businesses can consider Vectothor LED flying insect light traps , which use UV-A attraction and glue-board capture, rather than treating the device merely as a light source for attracting insects.

5. Why does IFS Food place emphasis on pest data analysis?

IFS requires the effectiveness of pest management measures to be evaluated through data analysis so that appropriate action can be taken in a timely manner. Reports, charts, statistics, trends, bait-consumption data and capture records can all be used as part of the evaluation process.

This makes trend analysis an important part of the programme. If insect captures at a monitoring point continue to increase, the business should be able to identify the trend before pest activity becomes clearly visible in production areas. For facilities with multiple monitoring points, data can be consolidated through the PestMan Dashboard to track trends, heatmaps and emerging pest hotspots.

Data analysis also helps QA/QC teams evaluate PCO service performance. Programme performance can be reviewed by area, time period and pest type instead of relying only on subjective observations. To do this effectively, QA/QC teams need to understand how to read pest control reports, from activity levels and trends to preventive and corrective actions.

6. Common issues when preparing for an IFS Food audit

A common issue is failing to update the pest-device map after the facility layout changes. Devices may have been relocated in the facility while the documentation still shows their previous positions. The device map should therefore be treated as part of a continuous process from site assessment and monitoring-point setup to regular inspection and updating rather than as a document created once and left unchanged.

Businesses may also encounter problems when inspection data are available but trend analysis has not been performed. IFS places emphasis on using data to support action, so records that contain only counts without evaluation provide limited evidence of programme effectiveness.

In addition, CAPA items related to structural gaps, sanitation or infrastructure should be tracked through to completion. Repeated recurrence of the same issue across multiple inspections may indicate that the underlying cause has not yet been effectively addressed.

7. How does VFC PestMan support businesses working with IFS Food requirements?

VFC PestMan develops IPM programmes based on risk assessment across individual areas of the facility. Trap systems, monitoring routes and inspection frequencies are designed according to pest risks and actual operating conditions.

Inspection data are consolidated to monitor pest activity levels, analyse trends and identify hotspots. When unusual activity is detected, VFC PestMan works with the business to investigate potential causes and recommend appropriate corrective actions.

Practical application: See how PestMan implemented IPM and standardised reporting and monitoring data at an F&B manufacturing facility that reduced pest incidents and maintained audit readiness for international assessments.

This approach helps businesses better support IFS expectations for risk-based pest management, transparent documentation and ongoing evaluation of programme effectiveness.

IFS Food encourages businesses to operate through a risk-based management system supported by objective evidence. For pest management, businesses need to connect risk assessment, monitoring devices, data, trend analysis and corrective action into one integrated programme.