Templates and records · IFS Food · Clause 5.1
IFS Food internal audit programme: template and example
The company's own check that the plant meets the standard, planned according to risk, with findings that become actions with deadlines.
In one sentence
The IFS Food internal audit programme plans audits that cover every requirement of the standard at least once a year, more often for what is critical to food safety, carried out by competent auditors independent of the area, with a report and corrective actions, because clause 5.1 includes one of the ten KO requirements.
- Where the standard requires it
- IFS Food · Clause 5.1 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 (5.1)
- Who fills it in
- Trained internal auditors They can be in-house staff from another area or a contracted external auditor
- When
- Annual programme Every requirement at least once every twelve months; critical areas more often
- 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 effective internal audits that cover all the requirements of the standard and are planned according to risk: whatever has most influence on product safety is audited more often. The minimum the standard expects is full coverage in every twelve-month period.
Auditors must be competent and must not audit their own work. Results are communicated to top management and to those responsible for each area, and corrective actions are planned with a deadline and an owner.
Site inspections, which IFS deals with separately (5.2), do not replace internal audit: they are more frequent, shorter walk-rounds covering hygiene and the condition of the premises.
Structure
Fields the template should include
- Period and programme approval date
- Requirements or areas per audit and risk criterion
- Planned and actual date
- Auditor and check of their independence
- Findings with their evidence and the IFS requirement affected
- Corrective actions, owner and deadline
- Communication of results to top management
Example
Example: programme for a fictitious ready-meals plant
Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.
| Field | Content |
|---|---|
| Period | October 2025 - September 2026 · approved by the managing director |
| Chapters 1 and 2 | November · external auditor |
| Chapter 3 (staff) | January · logistics manager |
| Chapter 4 (operations) | February and July · maintenance manager (does not audit maintenance) |
| Chapter 5 and KOs | March and August · external auditor · KOs reviewed twice as they are critical |
| Findings | 9 in total · 1 on CCP verification signed late |
| Actions | 9 opened · 8 closed · 1 within its deadline until October |
At the audit
Mistakes auditors commonly flag
- The whole programme crammed into the month before the external audit.
- KO requirements not audited more often than the rest.
- Quality audits its own work with nobody auditing quality.
- Findings with no action, or actions left open until the following year.
- Site inspections presented as if they were the internal audit.
In Kimobox
How this record is kept in Kimobox
- 1The annual programme is planned on the platform, with each audit assigned to an auditor and a date.
- 2The IFS Food checklist is completed during the audit itself, with evidence attached.
- 3Each finding becomes an action with an owner and a deadline, and the system warns you if it slips.
- 4The certification auditor can review the programme and how far it has been completed with a read-only user.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before getting started
How often must internal audits take place under IFS?
IFS expects every requirement to be audited at least once in each twelve-month period, and whatever is most critical to product safety to be audited more often, according to the risk analysis.
Can in-house staff carry out the audits?
Yes, if they have the necessary competence and do not audit their own work. In small plants it is common to combine in-house staff with an external auditor for the quality areas.
How does it differ from site inspections?
Inspections are frequent walk-rounds on hygiene, the condition of premises and practices; internal audit reviews the whole system against the standard. IFS requires both.
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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