Templates and records · IFS Food · Clause 4.12

IFS Food foreign body risk assessment

Metal, glass, hard plastic, wood or stones: where they could get into the product, how this is prevented and how whatever slips through is detected.

In one sentence

In IFS Food the foreign body risk assessment identifies at each step the possible sources of foreign material — metal, glass, hard plastic, wood, stones — decides the mitigation and detection measures, and is backed by control and incident records, because clause 4.12 of the standard includes a KO requirement on managing this risk.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: IFS Food · Clause 4.12 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 Documented assessment and control records; includes a KO requirement (4.12)
Who fills it in: HACCP or quality team The review is approved by the quality manager; daily checks by production
When: When setting up the system and after changes Reviewed at least once a year, with every new piece of equipment or process and after an incident
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 the risk of foreign material contamination to be assessed and, on the basis of that analysis, measures to be decided: prevention at source, detection equipment such as metal detectors or X-ray, sieves, filters or magnets, and control of brittle materials present in the plant.

Where there is detection equipment, its effectiveness is checked at a defined frequency with appropriate test pieces, and rejected product is managed and recorded. Incidents involving glass or brittle plastic follow their own procedure.

Detailed checking of a metal detector, with its test pieces and reject system, is developed in the BRCGS template; this sheet focuses on the overall assessment IFS expects to see.

Read it in context: Planning and production process, in the IFS Food Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Process step and type of possible foreign material
Source: raw material, equipment, building, staff, packaging
Likelihood, severity and risk level
Preventive and detection measures assigned
Detection equipment, test pieces and check frequency
Handling of rejected product
Record of incidents and breakages
Review date and approval

Example

Example: nut packing line (fictitious company)

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

Field	Content
Step	Receipt of bulk almonds
Hazard	Stones and metal fragments from the harvest
Risk	Medium likelihood · high severity
Measures	Destoner, magnet in the hopper and metal detector after packing
Detector	Checked at start-up, every 2 h and at the end with test pieces Fe 2.0 · non-Fe 2.5 · stainless 3.0 mm
Rejects	Locked bin; reviewed by quality at the end of the shift
Incident	6 August: reject containing an M6 nut · hopper inspected · fasteners replaced
Review	15 January 2026 · approved by quality

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

A generic assessment that does not mention the actual equipment on the line.
Detector checks without recording what happens if a test piece is not rejected.
Rejected product returned to the line without review.
Glass and hard plastic register with no periodic inspections.
Foreign body incidents in customer complaints that do not update the assessment.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1The risk assessment is documented by process and product, alongside the HACCP hazard analysis.
2Detector checks are recorded on the line terminal with their time; a failure opens an incident and blocks the batch back to the last good check.
3Foreign body incidents and customer complaints are linked and feed the annual review.
4Maintenance of magnets, sieves and detectors is scheduled in the CMMS with a reminder before each is due.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

Is a metal detector mandatory under IFS?

Not as a general rule. IFS requires the measures to be decided on the basis of the risk assessment. If the assessment concludes that detection is needed, the equipment, its checks and its reject handling become requirements.

What happens if the detector check fails?

Everything produced since the last good check is under suspicion and is held to be rerun through a working detector. The decision and the outcome are recorded.

Do we need a glass register?

It is the usual way to control brittle materials in production areas: a list of items, their location, condition and periodic inspections, and a procedure for breakages.

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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
General Principles of Food Hygiene, CXC 1-1969 Codex Alimentarius (FAO/WHO) · 2020 revision