Requirements for Renewing
75 contact hours (CH) every 5 years is required to support your application for renewal. Each contact hour (CH) equals one hour of instruction. To keep your CFS current, you must renew it every five years.
To attain the 75-credit hour requirement, you need to complete an average of 15 contact hours per year. IFT related program credit hours are automatically applied to your CFS portal account. If you attend IFT’s Annual Event you can earn a total of 22 contact hours. These hours are self-reported. You can check in on your accumulated credit hour status at any time by logging into your CFS account.
Questions? Direct questions about qualifying maintenance activities to [email protected].
Accepted Maintenance Activities & Limits
- Continuing education activities (seminars, conferences, poster sessions) offered by professional associations, university scientific symposia, and formal online, non-credit courses offered through a university (i.e. sensory evaluation food law, HACCP)
Earn CHs towards your CFS Renewal for each of the following activities:
- Employer in-house activities such as short courses or technical workshops
- Formal training sessions sponsored by manufacturers of equipment or ingredients, or food-science-related service providers
- Qualifying Section events
- Serving as a speaker in symposia and technical sessions at regional, national, or international scientific conferences
- Research activities as a solo/co-investigator leading to peer-reviewed outcomes such as publications and presentations
- Teaching courses or workshops
- Authoring books, chapters, or articles
- Self-directed study
- Formal college or university course work at any level (undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral) offered by regionally/globally accredited programs in food science, food technology, or a closely field (nutrition, culinary arts, engineering, management, statistics). Courses may be taken via distance education. Official transcripts are required for all college/university coursework.
Examples of activities that generally will not be accepted as CH:
- Attending committee or board meetings, serving on leadership committees, etc.
- Association membership and leadership activities, including those of IFT
- Business meetings
- Expositions at Conferences
- Supervision of subordinates, including interns
- Curriculum development
Submit for Renewal
Log into the CFS Portal to update your contact hours and submit your application for renewal. You’ll be asked to provide the International Food Science Certification Commission (IFSCC) with the following information for each CH activity:
- Program Sponsor/Contact Information
- Program Title
- Program Description
- Date activity was completed
- An indication of the content domain(s) the activity supports
- Number of Contact Hours
Renewal Fee
The CFS renewal fee helps support the costs associate with maintaining and developing a world-class certification program. All fees are listed in US dollars and subject to change. These fees are non-refundable.
IFT Member: $300 (average of $60/year)
Non-Member: $425 (average of $85/year)
