Templates and records · IFS Food · Clause 5.11

IFS Food corrective action plan

What is done so that a nonconformity does not happen again: cause, action, owner, deadline and a check that it worked.

In one sentence

In IFS Food the corrective action plan documents, for each nonconformity, the correction, the root cause analysis, the action to prevent recurrence, its owner and deadline, and verification of its effectiveness, because clause 5.11 includes a KO requirement and it is also the format in which findings from the certification audit are answered.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: IFS Food · Clause 5.11 Clause references follow the numbering of IFS Food Version 8. Where a record underpins a KO requirement, its sheet says so.
Type of information: Mandatory record IFS Food KO requirement (5.11)
Who fills it in: Area manager and quality The area analyses and implements; quality verifies effectiveness and closes
When: As soon as the nonconformity is detected The external audit plan within the deadline the standard sets for submitting it
How long it is kept: Shelf life plus one year, at least IFS Food requires records to be kept in line with legislation and for at least one year after the specified shelf life; if the product has none, the period must be justified (2.1.2).

What the standard requires

What IFS Food demands and what it leaves to your judgement

IFS requires a procedure for recording, analysing and correcting nonconformities, with the aim of preventing recurrence. Corrective actions must have an owner and a deadline, be implemented as soon as possible and be verified to check they are effective.

After the certification audit, the company sends an action plan with the correction and corrective action for each deviation, and the certification body reviews it before issuing the certificate. A plan with superficial causes is grounds for rejection.

Handling of nonconforming product, which IFS covers in clause 5.10, comes first: segregate it, decide its disposition and record it.

Read it in context: Measurements, analysis and improvements, in the IFS Food Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Number and source: audit, inspection, complaint, CCP, supplier
Description of the nonconformity and requirement affected
Immediate correction
Root cause analysis and method
Corrective action, owner and due date
Evidence of implementation
Verification of effectiveness: date, criterion and result
Closure and who signs it

Example

Example: IFS audit finding at a fictitious plant

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Source	IFS Food certification audit · 11 March 2026 · B deviation
Finding	Two metal detector checks not recorded on the night shift
Correction	Reinspection of product from those two shifts · no rejects
Root cause	The task was not assigned to the night shift on the sheet; it relied on the operator's memory
Action	Task scheduled per shift with a prompt on the terminal · production manager · 31 March
Evidence	Screenshot of the schedule and training for the night shift on 28 March
Effectiveness	30 June: 0 checks missed in 13 weeks · effective

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

The root cause is "human error" and the action is "train the operator".
Corrective actions with no date, or dates that slip without justification.
Effectiveness is verified on the same day the action is implemented.
Recurring nonconformities handled one by one without looking for the common cause.
The external audit action plan sent without evidence.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Any user can raise the nonconformity with a classified source and its evidence.
2The root cause is mandatory to move forward: you cannot proceed to action with a correction alone.
3The action has an owner and a date, and the system warns you if it slips.
4Verification of effectiveness is scheduled for a later date within the same record.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What is the difference between correction and corrective action?

Correction solves today's problem — reinspecting the product; corrective action eliminates the cause so it does not happen again — scheduling the task per shift. IFS requires both.

What is the IFS audit action plan?

The document the company sends to the certification body after the audit, with the correction and corrective action for each deviation and nonconformity. The body reviews it before issuing the certificate.

When is an action considered effective?

When enough time or volume has passed for the failure to have reappeared if the cause were still there, and it has not. The criterion should be set when the action is opened.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

IFS Food Version 8 — Standard for auditing product and process compliance in relation to food safety and quality IFS Management GmbH · Version 8, April 2023