1. Legal Compliance
Suppliers shall comply with all applicable Guatemalan laws and with the laws of any country to which goods are exported, including agricultural, customs, tax, labour, environmental, food-safety and data-protection regulations.
2. Human Rights & Labour
Suppliers shall respect the ILO core conventions: (a) no child labour — minimum working age of 15, or local legal minimum if higher, with strict limits for hazardous work under 18; (b) no forced, bonded, indentured or trafficked labour; (c) freedom of association and collective bargaining; (d) no discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, political opinion or union membership; (e) no harassment, corporal punishment or verbal abuse.
3. Wages, Hours & Conditions
Suppliers shall pay at least the legal minimum wage, provide formal employment terms, register workers with IGSS (Guatemalan social security) where required, observe legal limits on working hours, pay overtime as required by law and provide safe drinking water, sanitation, rest periods and dignified housing where workers are accommodated on-site.
4. Health & Safety
Suppliers shall maintain a safe workplace, provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for spraying, drying, milling and warehouse operations, train workers in safe handling of agro-chemicals and machinery and report serious incidents to Royal Spices within 48 hours where they affect supply or workers in our chain.
5. Environment & Deforestation
Suppliers shall not clear primary forest, peatland or other High Conservation Value areas. Cardamom and coffee plots supplying the EU must be deforestation-free with reference cut-off date of 31 December 2020 (EU Regulation 2023/1115). Suppliers shall provide accurate geolocation data (polygons or points), preserve riparian buffers, avoid burning of crop residues and progressively reduce synthetic input use.
6. Prohibited Inputs
The use of agro-chemicals listed in the FAO/WHO Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHP) list, Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention or the Stockholm Convention is strictly prohibited in our supply chain. Suppliers shall keep input records (product, dose, date, lot) for at least three (3) crop cycles.
7. Animal Welfare & Biodiversity
Suppliers shall protect wildlife habitat on their farms, not hunt or trap protected species and maintain shade-tree diversity. Use of pollinator-toxic substances during flowering is prohibited.
8. Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption
Suppliers shall not offer, give, solicit or accept any bribe, kickback or improper payment, whether to public officials or private parties. Gifts and hospitality in connection with Royal Spices business shall be modest, infrequent and never given to influence a specific decision. Conflicts of interest must be disclosed in writing.
9. Sanctions & Trade Controls
Suppliers shall not be owned, controlled by, or act on behalf of, any person or entity on the OFAC, EU, UN or HM Treasury sanctions lists. Suppliers shall not source inputs from, or route shipments through, sanctioned jurisdictions without our prior written consent.
10. Quality, Food Safety & Traceability
Suppliers shall follow Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), keep harvest, drying and storage records by lot, prevent cross-contamination with allergens and non-food materials, and segregate certified (organic, fair-trade, rainforest-alliance) volumes throughout the chain.
11. Confidentiality & Data
Suppliers shall protect Royal Spices' commercial information (pricing, formulations, customer identities) and personal data of workers in accordance with applicable law.
12. Sub-Tier Suppliers
Suppliers shall communicate this Code to their own workers and sub-suppliers and use reasonable efforts to ensure their compliance.
13. Audit & Verification
Royal Spices, or a third party we appoint, may visit and audit Supplier premises and records, with reasonable notice, to verify compliance with this Code. Suppliers shall cooperate in good faith and grant access to relevant areas, documents and workers (with worker consent).
14. Reporting Concerns
Workers, suppliers or any third party may report suspected breaches of this Code — confidentially and without fear of retaliation — through our Ethics & Whistleblower Channel at info@royalspices.com.gt (subject line beginning "ETHICS:").
15. Non-Compliance & Remediation
Where a breach is identified, Royal Spices will normally work with the Supplier on a time-bound corrective-action plan. Serious or repeated breaches — including child or forced labour, deforestation, bribery or sanctions violations — may result in immediate suspension or termination of the relationship and reporting to competent authorities.
Royal Spices Guatemala S.A. — Zona Pradera Empresarial, Torre 1, Oficina 605, Nivel 6, Zona 10, Ciudad de Guatemala. Contact: info@royalspices.com.gt.
See also our Terms & Conditions of Trade and Privacy Policy.