Skip to content
SAVIA

FOOD SAFETY4 min read

What to require on food safety, point by point

Resolución 2674 de 2013 entitles you to require a current sanitary licence for the production site, food-handling certificates for every operator, documented cold-chain control and batch traceability. Ask to see last Tuesday's temperature log: a system that exists is filled in up to yesterday.

The documents, and what to check on each

Asking for a document proves little. Each of these has one detail that separates a real system from a folder assembled for the meeting.

  • Sanitary licence: check the expiry date, the name it is issued under, and that the address matches the kitchen where your food will be produced — not the administrative office.
  • Food-handling certificates: individual and current, per person on shift, not a single company-level statement.
  • Temperature logs: time, responsible person and signature. Ask for a specific past date rather than a sample.
  • Batch traceability and retention samples: what allows one preparation to be isolated in hours instead of suspending the whole service.
  • Public liability insurance with product coverage: the schedule wording, not a broker's summary.

What to look at during the visit

Three things cannot be staged for a visit, which is why an unannounced audit is worth more than a scheduled one: whether staff wear protective equipment correctly when nobody is watching, whether record sheets are filled in up to today, and whether raw and cooked areas are genuinely separated rather than nominally separated.

On HACCP, be direct with everyone

Ask every bidder for the certificate number, the certifying body and the expiry date. A system built on HACCP principles is legitimate and common; a declared certification that does not exist is grounds for disqualification, and the gap between the two statements is where most of this sector lives.

NoteIf your operator produces in a third party's kitchen, verify whose name the sanitary licence is in and under what document they are authorised to produce there. It is the question an experienced HSEQ auditor asks first.

Related questions

What does Resolución 2674 de 2013 entitle us to demand?

Resolución 2674 de 2013 governs the sanitary conditions of anyone who manufactures, processes, prepares and distributes food in Colombia. In practice it entitles you to require from your supplier a current sanitary licence for the production site, food-handling certificates for every operator, cold-chain control and batch traceability.

The point most often missed: if your operator produces in a third party's kitchen, verify whose name the sanitary licence is issued under and under what arrangement the operator is authorised to produce there. It is the first question a serious HSEQ auditor asks.

How the cycle is recorded →

Is SAVIA HACCP certified?

Food safety is a pillar of how we operate: the processes are designed on HACCP principles, with preventive controls, traceability and monitored critical points, and certification is on route. That is exactly what we declare, and nothing beyond it. If a supplier declares HACCP, ask for the certificate number and its expiry date.

Our food-safety system →

What happens if there is a food-safety incident at our site?

What you should require from any operator is a written protocol with three things defined in advance: who the single spokesperson is, how long it takes to isolate the affected batch, and who absorbs medical attention and investigation costs. If the protocol is not written before the incident, it does not exist.

A zero-incident absolute policy is a clause that triggers on a case not attributable to the operator. What is defensible, and what serves both parties, is a conduct commitment with response times rather than a promise of an impossible outcome.

What we put in writing →

If this guide was useful, the assessment will be too.

We apply the same criteria to your own operation and hand you the result in writing. It is free, and the report is yours even if you stay with your current provider.

Request a free assessmentSee all the guides
Free assessmentWhatsApp