Comments from our CEO on Product Integrity and Seafood Mislabeling

In the wake of last week’s Boston Globe article on seafood mislabeling, I thought it would be helpful to summarize how Slade Gorton & Company manages your seafood supply chain to ensure safeguards all the way through. We have taken a leadership role in not only developing and managing our own system of food safety, quality and product integrity, but in advocating for others in our industry to adopt similar standards. Rest assured, you have picked a very strong partner in Slade Gorton.

As a leader in the US seafood industry, we have in place a rigorous protocol for ensuring the integrity, quality and safety of all our seafood products.  We do everything in our power to make sure that our customers receive exactly what they have ordered.  We are aware that some companies in our industry have not played by the rules and have mislabeled seafood, either by design or by mistake.  Mislabeling seafood is an unconscionable act that we at Slade Gorton & Company do not condone.

Knowingly mislabeling seafood and other forms of economic fraud are not only illegal, but in the end, hurt the entire supply chain from fishermen to consumers. Fishermen work hard and in many cases, risk their lives to bring their product to market; processors and distributors provide market access to a wide variety of wholesome and safe seafood products; and retailers and restaurants, who face the consumer directly, endeavor to ensure a positive dining experience, whether at home or away from home. The consumer, in turn, seeks the opportunity to enjoy healthy, wholesome, quality food and experience the multitude of seafood products available. Fraudulent behavior destroys value at all levels in the supply chain, by undermining the hard work, heritage and nourishment that such a meaningful industry support.

Slade Gorton and many other leaders in the seafood industry work very hard to advocate for economic integrity and fair trade in our industry. We have made significant investments in quality assurance and food safety systems, work closely with various trade associations, such as the National Fisheries Institute and its Better Seafood Board, as well as NGOs, regulators and scientists to ensure that the products we deliver to the market are what we say they are – every time.

Slade Gorton follows mandated guidelines to ensure compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations.  We have also developed our own standards, systems and protocol, well above and beyond that which is mandated, in order to provide our customers with the utmost confidence in our products and practices. We feel it is our responsibility and our obligation to deliver wholesome, safe and authentic products for consumers to enjoy. Honesty, integrity and pride in what we do are core values.

We have also recognized the importance of innovation, continuous improvement and adoption of best practices in order to fulfill our mission of bringing wholesome and safe seafood from around the world to America’s table. Some of our processes and protocol include: 

1. SQF (Safe Quality Foods) – Level 3 certified – The annual SQF audit process, certifies that we adhere to safe food practices to ensure the quality, food safety, traceability, authenticity and integrity of our products. We are one of only several US seafood companies who have received a Level 3 certification – SQF’s highest distinction.
2. We undergo annual 3^rd party audits by Silliker to verify our SQF program.
3. We mandate a rigorous vendor qualification program which includes visibility and transparency into our suppliers’ business practices. All suppliers must undergo 3^rd party audits to verify they have an FDA-approved HACCP Plan.
4. We follow a strict quality assurance protocol as mandated by our HACCP Plan, and verified by FDA, that includes testing for:
   1. Net weight
   2. Wholesomeness
   3. Adherence to Slade Gorton product specifications
   4. DNA testing on certain species
   5. Chain of custody certification to verify proper traceability, licensing, and countries of origin
5. MSC Chain of Custody Certified, audited annually by NSF Surefish, to ensure traceability back to source fisheries.
6. We undergo an annual Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility Audit, conducted by Intertek – Consumer Foods North America.
7. We have adopted GFS1 as our global tracking and traceability platform.
8. We are a member of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and a leading supporter of its Better Seafood Board (BSB). The BSB helps to promote ethical practices, works collaboratively with other agencies to identify and help eradicate fraud and ensures customers who do business with NFI members that they are buying products of integrity. We sign a pledge of economic integrity each year in order to maintain our status as an NFI member.
9. We have partnered with various additional NGOs, including the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) in order to support and lead change in global sustainable fishing practices and social responsibility.

Along with other leaders in our industry, we will continue to advocate at all levels in the supply chain for the adoption of ethical, safe and fair business practices. It is simply, the right thing to do.