In an agri-food environment where product safety and traceability are essential, we are proud to announce the renewal of our IFS Food Higher Level certification, with a score of 96% compliance. This recognition, obtained after a rigorous audit, is testament to our commitment to quality, food safety and continuous improvement.
‘This renewal is not a mere formality; it is a validation of our practices and our ability to meet the most stringent market requirements.’ – Loïc Gautier, Quality Manager at Pouliquen.
IFS Food certification: a guarantee of trust for our partners
IFS Food (International Featured Standards) is a European benchmark for food safety and quality, recognised by all players in the sector. Created in 2003 and now in its 8th version, it evaluates risk and process management, ensuring a level of excellence for certified companies.
IFS Food ‘Higher Level’ is awarded to players who have obtained a score of at least 95% compliance. This year we have reached the 96% mark and therefore maintain our level of certification. This reflects our desire to go beyond basic requirements to guarantee our customers safe, traceable products that comply with international standards.
What are the assessment criteria for IFS Food certification?
The IFS Food audit is based on several key areas:
✅ Food safety: strict compliance with HACCP principles, microbiological, chemical and physical controls.
✅ Process control: optimised flow management, batch traceability and reinforced quality control.
✅ Risk prevention: fight against food fraud and reinforcement of food defence measures (securing our facilities).
✅ Culture of food safety: training and awareness-raising for all our teams to ensure continuous improvement.
The food safety culture refers to the values, beliefs and behaviours shared within the company, which influence the way in which each employee approaches food safety. At Pouliquen, this means that every employee, at all levels, understands the importance of their role in product safety and is actively committed to maintaining this level of requirement on a daily basis.
A rigorous audit, reflecting our high standards
Obtaining IFS Food certification is not something that can be improvised. The audit we underwent took place over 1.5 days, with two main stages:
📌 Document analysis: more than 150 documents were examined to ensure the compliance of our procedures.
📌 Field inspection: verification in real conditions, interviews with our employees and validation of good practices.
‘IFS is not limited to a theoretical assessment. The auditors ensure that our teams apply the protocols on a daily basis, which reinforces the credibility of the process.’ – Loïc Gautier
Another special feature of this quality certification is that every three years, the evaluation is carried out by a surprise audit. This will be the case for our next audit, scheduled for September 2025 to January 2026. This additional requirement encourages us to maintain constant vigilance and sustain our good practices.
Working together to guarantee excellence
This certification is the result of the work of all our teams. At Pouliquen, food safety is a shared responsibility. That is why we have set up a specific training programme for all our 28 employees, according to their position.
– Training in risk prevention: specific cases applied to our company (foreign bodies, broken glass, etc.).
– Simulations and tests: our teams take a multiple-choice questionnaire after each training session, with results ranging from 16 to 20.
– Collective corrections: if an employee encounters difficulties, we organise discussion sessions to reinforce understanding of the issues at stake.
‘We don’t want quality to be perceived as a constraint, but as a shared culture. Each employee must understand why these requirements exist and how they protect both our customers and consumers.’ – Loïc Gautier
Why is IFS Food certification essential for our customers?
IFS Food Higher Level is a real commercial asset for our partners, whether they are wholesalers, importers or supermarket distributors.
– A guarantee of safety and traceability: reduction of risks related to non-compliance.
– An essential criterion for certain customers: certification is often a requirement for working with the major players in the sector.
– Smooth exchanges: our IFS-audited partners benefit from harmonised quality standards.
Towards continuous improvement of our practices
Obtaining certification is not an end in itself. At Pouliquen, we are committed to a process of continuous improvement, anticipating changes in standards and adapting our processes to new market requirements.
Our next steps:
➡️ Strengthen our internal audits in preparation for the unannounced audit in 2025.
➡️ Optimise our traceability and risk management protocols.
➡️ Continue training our teams, with new modules adapted to changes in the IFS standard.
‘The IFS evolves every 2 to 3 years. Our goal is to anticipate these changes in order to always offer the best to our customers.’ – Loïc Gautier
Pouliquen, a trusted partner for your supplies
With 96% compliance and the Higher Level, we reaffirm our position as a reliable and rigorous player in the trading and packaging of onions and shallots.
📞 Need an IFS Food certified supplier? Contact us today to learn more about our offer and our quality commitments!