IFS label review checklist for food manufacturers

What IFS auditors typically want to see

Wording varies from audit to audit, but the underlying questions are stable:

• Evidence that label content is reviewed against the current recipe and product specification — not against memory.
• A controlled link between supplier specifications and the finished-product label.
• Label version control: which artwork version is in production, for which market, since when.
• A review that is triggered again when a recipe, supplier specification or destination-market requirement changes.
• Records showing who reviewed what, which evidence was used and which open items remain.
• A documented QA decision behind the label that is on the market.

IFS label review checklist

1. Confirm the current label version for every product and destination market — and take old artwork versions out of circulation.
2. Check the name of the food against the product specification and the rules of the destination market.
3. Verify the ingredient list against the current recipe and the supplier specifications behind it, including additives and possible carry-over.
4. Check allergen emphasis line by line — and again after every artwork change.
5. Verify QUID where the product name or artwork emphasises an ingredient.
6. Check net quantity, durability date and storage conditions against the specification.
7. Confirm operator name and address details are current.
8. Review origin statements where the destination market requires them.
9. Confirm the supplier specifications behind the label are current — register validity dates, and flag expiring or missing evidence.
10. Record the QA decision, the evidence used and the open items — and keep the decision trail.

Evidence worth having at hand

Most label findings in audits are documentation findings. Keep these within reach:

• Current product specifications and recipes.
• Label versions with dates and destination markets.
• Supplier specification status per product — received, expiring or missing.
• Review records with open QA points.
• Recorded QA decisions with their evidence references.

How FoodQA helps

FoodQA is a review workspace for labels, supplier specifications and QA decisions — built for audit-heavy QA teams. It shows product records and label versions by destination market, tracks supplier specifications and review status, collects documented review decisions, and prepares evidence reports for audit preparation.

You provide the product evidence. FoodQA prepares the review package. QA makes the decision.