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IFS Broker is a recognised certification standard for companies that trade, import, or broker food and consumer products without necessarily physically handling them.
Achieving IFS Broker certification shows that your organisation has strong controls in place for supplier approval, product safety, traceability, and legal compliance across the supply chain. It helps businesses build trust with retailers, manufacturers, and regulators while strengthening commercial credibility.
Our experienced team provides practical IFS Broker support tailored to trading and intermediary businesses. Whether you need a gap analysis, help improving systems, audit preparation, or ongoing compliance guidance, we help make the process clear, structured, and manageable.
IFS Broker is a certification standard designed for businesses that act as intermediaries in the supply chain for food and consumer products.
It provides a structured framework for managing supplier approval, product safety, quality, traceability, and legal compliance where products are traded, imported, or brokered rather than manufactured directly. The standard helps businesses demonstrate that they maintain effective control over the products and suppliers they manage.
IFS Broker certification is widely recognised across international supply chains and supports businesses that need to show robust oversight without directly storing or transporting goods.
IFS Broker certification is relevant to organisations that buy, sell, import, export, or broker food and consumer products and are responsible for supplier management, product integrity, and compliance.
IFS Broker certification forms part of a wider product safety and quality framework designed to help trading businesses manage risk, improve consistency, and demonstrate compliance. A successful system requires documented procedures, effective supplier oversight, strong traceability, and regular review.
Our consultants support organisations through every stage of certification preparation, helping strengthen systems, close gaps, and improve audit readiness.
IFS Broker covers the systems and controls needed to manage product safety, quality, legality, and supplier oversight across trading activities.
- Supplier approval and monitoring systems
- Product specifications and contractual controls
- Risk assessment and product integrity measures
- Traceability and recall arrangements
- Complaint handling and corrective action processes
- Documentation, records, and legal compliance controls
- Internal audits and continual improvement activities
IFS Broker helps trading businesses demonstrate that they have effective control over the products and suppliers within their supply chain. It provides confidence to customers and supports a more structured, risk-based approach to compliance.
- Supports supplier approval and customer confidence
- Demonstrates commitment to product safety and quality
- Helps reduce risk of supply chain failures and non-compliance
- Improves traceability and oversight of sourced products
- Builds trust with retailers, manufacturers, and regulators
To achieve IFS Broker certification, organisations must implement and maintain effective controls across supplier management, product assurance, traceability, and legal compliance.
- Documented supplier approval and monitoring procedures
- Risk-based controls for sourced and traded products
- Product specifications and contractual clarity
- Traceability and recall management systems
- Complaint handling and corrective action processes
- Internal verification, monitoring, and review activities
IFS Broker compliance is verified through structured audits that assess whether systems are documented, implemented, and effective in practice.
- Gap analysis and pre-assessment reviews
- Internal audits and compliance checks
- Review of supplier records and product documentation
- Assessment of traceability and contractual controls
- Audit preparation and corrective action support
Certification is not the end of the process. Ongoing review, internal auditing, and supplier monitoring are essential to keep standards strong and support future audits. A typical ongoing compliance approach includes:
- Maintaining documented procedures and records
- Reviewing supplier performance and corrective actions
- Updating controls when products, suppliers, or markets change
- Delivering refresher training and internal support
- Preparing for surveillance or recertification audits
IFS Broker certification is a strong step for trading businesses that want to strengthen supplier control, meet customer expectations, and grow with confidence. A well-prepared approach reduces stress, improves audit outcomes, and supports stronger day-to-day oversight.
At Compliancy Group, we combine practical compliance knowledge with hands-on support, helping organisations prepare for IFS Broker certification, improve systems, and maintain a stronger compliance position.
We understand the practical demands of broker certification and the expectations of customers, suppliers, and certification bodies. Our team helps identify gaps, strengthen controls, and improve audit readiness.
We combine certification support with real operational understanding, helping businesses apply IFS Broker requirements in a way that works in practice, not just on paper.
We help businesses improve procedures, records, and supporting documents so systems are easier to manage, review, and present during audit.
From initial gap analysis through to audit preparation and ongoing improvement, we provide clear, practical support at every stage.
Our advice is tailored to your trading model, suppliers, and products. We focus on practical solutions that strengthen compliance and support long-term success.
Continued involvement beyond certification to maintain standards, prepare for surveillance audits and strengthen long-term governance maturity.
Our specialist team are here to help you through every stage of the certification process.
IFS Broker is a GFSI-recognised certification standard for companies that trade, import, or broker food and consumer products. It focuses on supplier management, product safety, traceability, and legal compliance across the supply chain.
Yes. Even if you do not physically handle products, you are still responsible for supplier approval, product integrity, and compliance within the trading process.
Key requirements include supplier management, risk management, contractual responsibility, traceability, product assurance, complaint handling, and internal review.
Yes. IFS Broker can often sit alongside other standards such as IFS Food, IFS Logistics, or wider food safety and quality certifications, depending on your business activities.
If your business acts as an intermediary in the supply of food or consumer products and is responsible for supplier oversight, product safety, quality, and legality, IFS Broker may be suitable.
IFS Broker certification is generally valid for one year, subject to the certification body’s rules and successful ongoing compliance.
Benefits include stronger supplier control, improved customer confidence, better traceability, reduced supply chain risk, and stronger positioning for new business opportunities.
IFS Broker is a food safety standard for brokers, importers and trading companies that do not store, transport or handle products physically. It focuses on supplier approval, traceability, legal compliance and product safety. BRC Storage and Distribution is a BRCGS certification for companies involved in storage, warehousing, transport and distribution of food and consumer products. It focuses on food safety, product quality, hygiene, traceability and transport conditions. In short: IFS Broker applies to product sourcing and trading without physical handling, while BRC Storage and Distribution applies to storage and distribution with physical handling of products.
