Food safety Archives - Seattle Fish Co.

In late September, Derek Figueroa, CEO & President of Seattle Fish Co. and Chairman of the National Fisheries Institute, and Savanna Ronco, Marketing Coordinator, along with more than 100 seafood industry executives from across the country returned to Washington, D.C. for NFI’s political conference. This group gathered for the first time in-person since 2019 to connect with Members of Congress, federal agencies and embassies to discuss issues impacting the seafood industry.

“The future of the seafood industry lies in the hands of today’s leaders,” said Figueroa. “As American businesses continue to rebuild and navigate this unparalleled time, it’s critical that the seafood community engage with policy makers. As an industry, we must speak with one collective voice to inform and educate Members of Congress and the Administration about the impact their policies have on our day-to-day operations and on our industry as a whole.”

“The NFI Political Conference allows members to help shape the future of the seafood industry,” said John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute. “We appreciate the seafood executives who came to Washington, DC to share their stories. They truly understand if you don’t take a seat at the table you’re often on the plate.”

One of Seattle Fish Company’s core values is customer. We think of our customers first and make decisions with the customer in mind. It is for this reason that we differentiate ourselves by providing industry leadership, positioning ourselves as thought leaders and influencers. When we attend conferences like NFI’s political conference, we represent you, our customers, and advocate for your needs and the needs of the seafood industry as a whole.

There were many important issues discussed at the four-day conference, which was held at the Intercontinental Wharf Hotel in D.C., just steps from Capitol Hill. Amongst them were port congestion, which is an issue for many industries recently, the nation-wide labor shortage, advocacy for streamlined domestic aquaculture, and FDA requirements for labeling of highly-processed plant-based seafood alternatives.

As the seafood industry continues to navigate the global logistics crisis, it is more important than ever that those in leadership positions at Seattle Fish Company connect with like-minded thought-leaders, such as those in NFI, to share ideas and join together as one voice on industry-wide issues.

NFI’s next in-person meeting will be the Global Seafood Market Conference 2022, January 18-20 at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate in Orlando, Florida. GSMC will be the first global, in-person conference for the seafood industry in 24 months.

At Seattle Fish, our team works diligently every day to ensure that your customers and your family can enjoy our seafood safely. Safety is one of our cornerstones. It’s written on the walls throughout our facility; a visual reminder of how vital our adherence to daily safety practices are. Our work around safety – both food safety (what we do to keep our products safe) and environmental safety (what we do to keep our people and customers safe) – represents our commitment to our customers, partners and community.

Seattle Fish Co.’s food safety program is among the top in the nation, and also what separates Seattle Fish Company from the rest of the pack. In fact, SFC is the only seafood company in Colorado to have earned certification as a Level 3 SQF (Safe Quality Food) facility, a rigorous and credible food safety and quality program that is recognized by retailers, brand owners, and food service providers world-wide.

This level of safety doesn’t happen by accident, we have made a conscious decision to invest in raising the bar on safety, including a team of three individuals dedicated solely to making sure we follow (and exceed) industry food safety standards and personal safety practices.

This team is led by Ken Boyer, Seattle Fish Company’s Food Safety Quality Assurance Manager & SQF Practitioner, who has been with the company since 1993. Ken has also taught Seafood HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certification for over 10 years and is one of only two instructors inside the state of Colorado licensed to do so.

Seattle Fish Co. also has a safety committee made up of individuals from various departments that meet once a week to stringently and intentionally review our performance, keep up with new and changing information, and drive continual improvement. They then share that information internally with employees and make themselves available to answer any questions.

“We work to ensure that Seattle Fish Company is providing the highest-quality and safest product possible to our customers,” said Boyer regarding his team and their important role at Seattle Fish. “We accomplish this by diligently following a seafood HAACP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plan regulated by the FDA. In addition to following our HAACP plan, we’ve self-created many SOP’s, policies, and procedures on what our employees need to do and follow every day to ensure we are sending out only the best product.”

“My safety team is responsible for conducting daily safety audit checklists that consist of about 15-20 line items, including checking for proper rotation, and ensuring that all products are labeled and binned correctly in our warehouse. Perhaps our most important work is training and educating our staff on food safety and personal safety standards. This makes all the difference on ensuring that we’re providing a safe product to customers and consumers.”

Your brand – the name on your building, the food you prepare, the atmosphere you create – is your reputation and your promise to your customers. Our investment and leadership in food and environmental safety represents an investment that we consciously make in your brand. We are proud of the effort we undertake to ensure that the healthy seafood and specialty products you receive from Seattle Fish are wholesome enough for us to feed to our families, and wholesome enough to serve to your customers. That investment reflects in our reputation and our brand promise to you. Leadership in food safety – we wouldn’t dream of doing this any other way.

Sources:
https://www.sqfi.com/why-get-certified/about-sqf-program/
https://www.fda.gov/food/hazard-analysis-critical-control-point-haccp/haccp-principles-application-guidelines

Tag Archives: Food safety

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