Saving Seafood

New Owner May Reopen Fish Company After Food Safety Upgrade

February 17, 2016 — The federal court documents that Friday led to the mandatory closure of the Sullivan Harbor Farm smokehouse in Hancock, ME, also included  a lengthy recipe for re-opening the facility known for annually smoking as much as 75,000 pounds of Atlantic salmon.

Friday’s consent decree of permanent injunction, ordered by a federal judge, shut down Mill Stream Corp., doing business as Sullivan Harbor Farm on U.S. 1 in Maine. The injunction also prohibits the company’s former president and owner, Ira J. Frantzman, from working in the food industry. The injunction is in response to a Feb. 10 complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice at the behest of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

But ahead of the Feb. 12 injunction, in late January, Sullivan Harbor Farm reportedly was sold.

“The new owner has already made most of the necessary improvements while working with a food safety expert in conjunction with FDA to improve safety, sanitation and training practices in anticipation of reopening soon, bringing award winning products back into the marketplace,” stated a Sullivan Harbor Farm post Monday on the company’s Facebook page.

It did not disclose the name of the new owner, but said whoever it is plans to “move forward with new concepts, while continuing the 25 year tradition of producing safe, tasty artisanal smoked seafood.”

Read the full story at Food Safety News

Labor Abuse in Shrimp Peeling Sheds in Thailand Showed US Importers Asleep at the Switch

SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton — December 22, 2015 — The recent announcement by the Thai Shrimp Association that all shrimp peeling will be brought in house by major processors, and that use of third party peeling sheds will be discontinued, is not a ‘win’ for the shrimp industry.

Instead it shows that many have been asleep at the switch, and the safeguards put in place such as audits and certifications, have been inadequate.  However, several US importers say that they had already taken steps to safeguard their supply chain against labor abuse.

Jeff Sedacca, President of the shrimp division of National Fish & Seafood said, “We saw many years ago that Thai safeguards were not adequate, so we took proactive steps to create, implement, and enforce safeguards of our own, including discontinuation of peeling sheds in 2010 and advocating for expansion of fair labor practices required for BAP certification.”

Sedacca says his company has fully committed to the BAP program, and is one of the largest four star shrimp suppliers in the US.

In Thailand, National intends to gain four star certification in the First Quarter of this year, when the new feedmill and hatchery to supply many of their farms gets its certification.  The feed mill and hatchery has been operating this year, but has to build up a production record prior to being inspected by BAP auditors.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.