Policies
Responsible sourcing and supplier code
Astratech Solutions is a merchant exporter: the produce, grain and meals we ship are grown, packed and processed by facilities we select. This code sets out what we require of every grower, packhouse, mill and processor we work with, what they can expect from us in return, and how compliance is verified. Acceptance of a purchase order is acceptance of this code.
1. Legal compliance and registration
Suppliers comply with the laws that apply to their operation and hold the registrations and licences their product and market require — food-business registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, APEDA registration where the product is exported under APEDA's schemes, and the state and local licences that apply to the facility. Certificates are current, genuine and available to us and, on request, to the buyer.
2. Labour and human rights
- No child labour. No one below the legal minimum age is employed, and no one under eighteen performs hazardous work, in line with the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and the ILO conventions on minimum age and the worst forms of child labour.
- No forced, bonded or trafficked labour. Workers are free to leave, retain their own identity documents, and pay no recruitment fees to obtain work, in line with the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.
- Wages at or above the legal minimum, paid in full and on time, with lawful hours, overtime and rest days.
- No discrimination in hiring, pay or treatment on grounds of gender, caste, religion, region, disability or any other protected characteristic; no harassment or abuse.
- Freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively, as the law provides.
- A safe and healthy workplace — protective equipment where pesticides, machinery or dust are handled, clean water and sanitation, and training in the hazards of the work.
3. Fair dealing — what suppliers can expect from us
We buy on written terms agreed before the goods move, at the price agreed, and we pay on time and in full. We do not impose retrospective deductions or changes to the parameters without the supplier's agreement, and we share the results of load-port inspection and analysis with the facility concerned. A supplier who meets this code and our quality parameters can expect repeat business.
4. Environment
Suppliers use only crop-protection products registered for the crop and the market, at label doses and pre-harvest intervals, and keep spray records that support the residue results the buyer relies on. Water, soil and energy are used responsibly; waste, packaging and effluent are handled lawfully; and crop residue is managed without open burning where the law prohibits it.
5. Food safety and traceability
Facilities maintain the hygiene, pest-control and process controls appropriate to the product, and the HACCP or equivalent food-safety system their market requires. Every lot is traceable to the farm plot, packhouse batch or mill run it came from, and records are kept for the shelf life of the product and the period the buyer's market requires. Feed-material suppliers meet the feed-safety requirements of the destination and use no prohibited materials.
6. Business integrity
Suppliers comply with our anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy and our anti-money-laundering policy in their dealings with us, with inspectors and with officials. They do not offer inducements to our staff or to anyone acting for us.
7. Verification
Suppliers complete a self-assessment against this code before first shipment. We visit facilities before we ship from them and periodically thereafter, and buyers or their appointed auditors may audit on reasonable notice. Where a gap is found, the supplier agrees a corrective action plan with a timescale; a serious or uncorrected breach — child or forced labour, falsified records, a safety hazard left unaddressed — ends the relationship.
8. Raising a concern
Workers, suppliers and community members may raise concerns about conditions at any facility we source from by writing to contact@astratechsolutions.net with the subject line Sourcing. Concerns are investigated, the identity of the person raising them is protected where requested, and no one suffers any disadvantage for raising a concern in good faith.