---
id: KB-CS-002
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/food-and-beverage/food-supplier-certificates
idioma: en
categoria: sector-alimentacion
subcategoria: distribucion
audiencia: usuario
actualizado: 2026-08-12
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CS-001, KB-TL-001, KB-SC-001]
citadoPor: [KB-CR-001, KB-CS-003, KB-CS-005, KB-CS-006]
enLaApp: https://app.codecontract.io/trackline/schemas
---

# Supplier certificates in the food sector

_Collect data sheets, allergen info and certifications from every supplier, with expiry alerts._

**Responde a:** how to collect certificates from food suppliers · supplier document control IFS BRC · managing technical data sheets and allergens · documentation for a food safety audit · expired supplier certificates

A food business with seventy product lines holds, for every supplier, a technical data sheet, an allergen declaration, a certificate for whichever standard applies and often a certificate of origin. That is hundreds of documents with different review dates, and the auditor asks for all of them on the same day.

**En corto**

- One process per supplier type, run at onboarding and at every renewal.
- Automatic reading pulls the validity date and certificate number out of the document.
- The expiry alert fires before it lapses, not when the auditor spots it.
- The audit dossier is exported in one go, with no manual gathering.

## What to ask a food supplier for

| Document | How often | Why it is asked for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Product technical data sheet | At onboarding and on every reformulation | It is the basis of your own sheet and of the label |
| Allergen declaration | At onboarding and on every change | Direct liability: an undeclared allergen is a serious incident |
| Standard certification (IFS, BRC, ISO 22000) | Annually | Your own audit asks for it, not just your client |
| Certificate of origin or health certificate | Per batch or per season | Mandatory on imports and for some products |
| Food business registration | At onboarding | Without it the supplier should not be approved at all |

## The real problem is not asking: it is expiry

Almost everyone manages to gather the paperwork at onboarding. What fails is year two: the supplier's IFS certificate expired in March, nobody looked, and the finding turns up in the October audit. With an expiry date on the document, the alert fires on its own and the renewal is requested before there is a gap.

> [!NOTE]
> If automatic reading pulls the validity date off the certificate itself, nobody has to type it in — which is exactly where the error creeps in that nobody later spots.

## What the auditor takes away

In a food safety audit what counts is not only holding the document: it is demonstrating there was a system. One file per supplier, with the date each document was requested, the date it arrived and the renewal alert on record, answers that question better than a folder full of PDFs.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I ask for different documents by supplier type?**

Yes: one process per type. A raw material supplier is not asked the same things as a packaging supplier or a haulier.

**How do I keep allergens under control when a formulation changes?**

The allergen declaration is requested at onboarding and on every change. Because each is dated, you can see which version was current when each batch was produced.

**Does it help prepare an IFS or BRC audit?**

That is one of the main uses. You export the dossier with the evidence and its dates, instead of compiling for days.

**What about temperature or cleaning records?**

Those are not requested from anyone: you generate them. They fit better as certified evidence, so they carry a demonstrable date.

## Ejemplos

**A manufacturer is audited to IFS and is asked for the current certificate of twelve raw material suppliers.**

- Filters the raw material supplier files
- Confirms none has an expired certificate, because the alerts fired when they were due
- Exports the dossier with the twelve pieces of evidence and their dates

→ It is handed over on the spot, and the auditor can independently verify the date of every document.

**A technical sheet expires and nobody notices until the audit.**

- Records each document's validity on receipt

→ The warning arrives before the auditor.

**Each supplier sends the sheet in a different format.**

- Requests specific documents to a single destination

→ What is received can be compared.

**An allergen changes and nobody reviews the labels.**

- Asks the supplier to communicate any change

→ The change arrives before the problem.

**Chasing sixty suppliers takes a morning a week.**

- Requests and chases automatically

→ The morning is recovered and the sheets still arrive.

**An audit asks you to evidence ten suppliers.**

- Checks each one's file

→ The handover is prepared in minutes.