Signing food contracts on-site WITHOUT digital certificates
The recently amended Food Chain Law aims to make commercial relationships fairer, more transparent, and balanced. As part of this, the new Royal Decree on “Registration of Food Contracts” now mandates that sales or supply contracts must be in writing and signed before product delivery. This means all food contracts (and their modifications), annexes, and/or payment orders with primary producers must be registered in the Food Contracts Registry.
This decree applies to all purchases over €1,000 or where payment is not made at the time of product delivery. The buyer is responsible for registering these documents, which must be recorded in the Food Contracts Registry before each product delivery (e.g., a daily order must be registered before the buyer receives the products). Penalties for non-compliance can range from €250 to €1,000,000.
What does this law require from companies technologically?
First: agility and digitalization. Therefore, companies should move away from paper for signing and storing contracts and agreements. Using digital signatures for signing contracts with suppliers or any related documentation, besides providing all the inherent benefits of this technology, will make registering documents simpler and fully legally valid.
This is the first step to creating a contract management system that allows automatic registration and updates, preventing any delays in business operations.
Another aspect iCommunity can assist with is providing a food traceability platform that certifies the entire supply chain.
- Origin and provenance: we certify the origin and provenance of physical products by creating an auditable and public record.
- Transparency: transparency in all supply chain processes boosts brand reputation and consumer trust.
Certyfirma: the perfect solution for signing food contracts anytime, anywhere
Advanced electronic signatures are a cryptographic mechanism that allows documents to be signed with legal guarantees and evidentiary value. They must:
- Unequivocally identify the signer.
- Guarantee the integrity of the signed document, ensuring it is the original without any manipulation or alteration since signing.
These requirements are covered under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, known as the eIDAS Regulation. iCommunity’s advanced electronic signature solution, Certyfirma, complies with this regulation, and iCommunity is recognized as a “Trust Service Provider” according to it. iCommunity establishes the necessary mechanisms to ensure secure communications and collects evidence of every step in the process.
Certyfirma’s main distinguishing feature from other digital signature solutions is that it replaces digital certificates with other authentication and signature technologies, such as biometric identity verification and blockchain evidence generation. This offers two main advantages:
- Improved usability: it facilitates document signing in mobile environments where access to digital certificates is often unavailable.
- Increased availability and accessibility: it uses decentralized technologies that allow anyone to use this solution in any country (even those without digital certificates) and verify a signature anywhere in the world.
How can Certyfirma help comply with this law?
A signature solution like Certyfirma can help primary sector producers comply with the Food Chain Law by addressing issues such as:
- Geographical dispersion of employees, clients, or suppliers.
- Low level of digitalization among employees or suppliers.
- Excessive time taken for signing documents, contracts, delivery notes, etc.
- Lack of access to digital certificates in mobile environments.
Additionally, Certyfirma can be integrated via API with any existing ERP or document management system within the organization, further enhancing operational agility and management.
Our experience in the sector with clients like Estrella Galicia, Lidl, and many others supports our services. For more information, contact our team without obligation.
