Wonderful Washington

A key component of Washington’s diverse seafood industry is the Seattle-based SPA. As a technical trade organization, the SPA currently serves its 50 member companies in the areas of regulatory compliance and conformance with customer requirements related to food safety, quality, and legality, says Christopher Rezendes, SPA president. SPA also provides services to non-members under their subsidiary, Seafood Consulting Services Inc.

The non-profit SPA represents Pacific Northwest seafood processors who maintain corporate offices in Washington State, Oregon, Alaska, and British Columbia, Canada and have 20 processing plants in Washington.

“Our members process all seafood species, including fin fish, crustaceans, and mollusks,” Rezendes says. In 2015, the SPA members produced approximately 3.96 million cases of salmon alone (48 tall can basis per case), he notes.

The SPA was originally established in 1919 as the Northwest Research Laboratory of the National Canners Association (NCA), which was founded in 1907. “The laboratory supported the national and regional seafood safety and processing concerns of NCA member companies,” Rezendes explains.

The NCA transformed into the National Food Processors Association in 1978, the Food Products Association in 2005, and in 2007 merged with the Grocery Manufacturers Association. In 2008 the seafood laboratory became a separate entity now known as the SPA.

“The SPA provides services to all segments of the food industry, including technical and regulatory consultation, regulatory guidance, various food safety training courses, chemistry and microbiology laboratory services, and sensory evaluation of seafood products,” Rezendes says. “What’s more, SPA is an internationally recognized process authority for the food industry.”

According to Rezendes, an early function of the NCA was the creation and administration of the Plan of Better Salmon Control, now the Salmon Control Plan, a unique cooperative agreement between canned salmon processors, FDA, and the NCA. The program was originally established in 1935 and continues to this date.

“Under this program, all representative lots of canned salmon are examined for quality before distribution to the market place,” Rezendes relates. “In addition, the SPA manages the container integrity program portion of the agreement. Before distribution, all canned salmon container are examined at warehouses located in the Pacific Northwest.”

The Salmon Control Plan has fostered and facilitated a cooperative relationship been the FDA and the seafood industry, Rezendes points out. “It has provided a format for addressing compliance issues, cross-training, and exceptional dialogue with the FDA, as well as other state regulatory agencies,” he says.

Rezendes mentions that SPA’s member processors have operated under the FDA’s seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points food safety regulation, Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance since 1997, and the canneries have operated under the FDA’s low acid canned foods food safety regulation, Guidance for Commercial Processors of Acidified & Low-Acid Canned Foods, since 1972. “These programs ensure the fish and fishery products produced by the processing facilities are safe,” Rezendes says.

Rezendes believes that, while compliance with third-party standards that far exceed regulatory requirements is a relatively new element for food processors who want to market products to major domestic and international customers, such compliance is old hat for the SPA members. “Our members have undergone independent third-party audits for more than 20 years,” he notes.

“For SPA members, producing safe and wholesome products through science-based programs and cooperative agreements has long been paramount to success,” Rezendes emphasizes. “Our members strive for compliance with high standards and exude a cooperative spirit with regulatory authorities.”