Saving a bakery from closure after a Sanepid inspection

The challenge

The bakery employs 7 people and delivers bread to 14 local stores around Lublin. The main problem was a HACCP book that hadn't been updated since 2021 and 3 employees with expired sanitary-epidemiological tests. Additionally, the inspector questioned the technical condition of one of the cold rooms, where the temperature was 8.4 degrees instead of the required maximum of 6.

Every day the bakery is closed is a loss of around 3,400 PLN in raw material alone, which would go to waste. The owner, Mr. Marek, tried to talk to the office on his own, but emotions only made the situation worse. The official considered the lack of documentation to be gross negligence and threatened a fine of 5,200 PLN.

Our approach

The Sarmatia Risk Control (SRC) team arrived on site on Tuesday at 1:30 PM. We started with a thorough analysis of the inspection protocol. We split the tasks into two tracks: immediate repair of physical deficiencies and express completion of gaps in documents. One of our specialists personally supervised the cold room service, which we called in on an urgent basis that same afternoon.

From Wednesday morning, we worked intensively on updating hygiene procedures. We prepared a cover letter to the County Sanitary-Epidemiological Station, in which we demonstrated the corrective steps taken point by point. We applied the principle of concrete defense – instead of asking for mercy, we presented evidence of hazard removal.

The solution

We implemented a new, simplified system for daily temperature checks that takes employees only 3.5 minutes per shift. We updated technological descriptions for 14 key products, including the flagship rye bread. Thanks to our contacts, 3 employees underwent the missing tests on an accelerated basis on Wednesday afternoon.

Finally, we prepared a complete binder with documentation that met current legal requirements. The documentation was prepared in simple language so that the crew actually understood what and why they were signing. We closed the entire process in 41 hours from the moment we received the first call from the client.

Results

The bakery was not closed for even an hour, which saved contracts with local stores. After presenting documentation and evidence of the cold room repair, Sanepid waived the financial penalty.

Timeline

1. Tuesday 09:15
   Start of Sanepid inspection and issuance of protocol with defects.
2. Tuesday 13:30
   SRC arrival on site, technical audit, and call to cold room service.
3. Wednesday 15:00
   Completion of HACCP book update and employee test updates.
4. Thursday 08:30
   Delivery of a full set of documents to the office and positive verification.