Seawork - HACCP awarded

HACCP is a system which identifies hazards and implements measures for their control. It was first developed in 1960 by NASA to ensure food safety for the manned space program. The main objectives of NASA were to prevent food safety problems and control food borne diseases. HACCP has been widely used by food industry since the late 1970 and now it is internationally recognized as the best system for ensuring food safety.

HACCP is endorsed by the:

• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)

• Codex Alimentarius (a commission of the United Nations),

• FDA (US Food and Drug Administration),

• European Union

• WHO (World Health Organization)

There are seven basic principles that must be followed which are:

Principle 1

Conduct a hazard analysis.

Principle 2

After assessing all the processing steps, the Critical control point (CCP) is controlled. CCP are points in a food production and processing at which significant hazards can be controlled or even determined.

Principle 3

Establish critical limit for each CCP.

Principle 4

Set up a system to monitor each CCP.

Principle 5

Establish corrective actions.

Principle 6

Establish verification procedures. The verification process is required to confirm if the system is working properly and that procedures outlined in the HACCP documents are properly being followed.

Principle 7

Record-keeping and documentation.

Seawork Fish Processor is a fishing company based in Walvis Bay Namibia and it is a HACCP certified member.It has been accredited with the HACCP certificate as it is an international seafood supplier. This has ensured that the company has a well managed seafood safety system and their products are of superior quality.

http://www.seawork.com.na/quality.html

Hake fillet skin-on

Hake fish comes from the same family as Cod andHaddock but it is tastier as compared to other whitefish. It is a small fish of averaging 1 to 8 lb in weight, but which has been known to grow up to 60 lbs. There are different species of Hake found over the world but Seawork offers the best Hake fish found in South Africa which is known as Merluccius Capensis.

Calories present in Hake fish: 75; carbohydrates: 0.5 g; fat: 0.9 g; protein: 18 g. it is also rich in calcium, phosphorus and potassium.

Seawork offers a wide variety of Hake products. There are around 15 types of Hake products that are processed at our plant including Hake skin on. All our Hake fish products are filleted by hand which guarantee our clients that top quality hake products are being offered to them.

Seawork offers Hake skin on fillets in different grading. It is available as follows:

2 - 4 Oz, 4 - 6 Oz, 6 - 8 Oz, 8 - 10 Oz, 10 - 12 Oz, 12+ Oz / 70-90 g, 90-110 g,110-130 g, 130-150 g, 150-170 g,170-220 g.

The headed and gutted Hake is de-iced, de-scaled, graded and hand filleted. The fillets are trimmed for blood, bones, fins, black membrane, parasites, roe, guts, loose fish scales, absecces and sorted, packed and quick frozen in accordance with good commercial practice to attain a product temperature of -18ºC or below.

The Hake fillet is plate frozen to attain a product temperature of -18 C or below after thermal stabilization. No glazing is done when processing the Hake fillet. The fillets must be packed skin-down and lengthwise using blue LDPE for interleaving. The product must be packed in such a way that each layer of fillets is interleaved; the fillets are not touching and can be separated easily in a frozen state.

The storage and transport temperature is kept at a minimum of -18ºC and the product can be best used before 24 months from the date of production. The weight of the carton is 5kg net and sealing is 2*5kg cartons single strap clockwise.

We give our clients a wide range of facilities like, they can order as per the grading they need the Hake products to be processed. Also, we can do our own packaging with our labeling on the cartons such as Name of product, Latin name, EU approval number, Net weight, Best before and expiry date, Batch number, Address of manufacturer, EAN 128 bar code.FAO Area, Storage conditions and Product of Namibia.

http://www.seawork.com.na/hake-fillet-skinon.html

Marine Stewardship Council

Being in the fish industry for about 15 years, Seawork Fish processor ltd is one among the leading Namibian fishing companies and we applied the MSC policies to be able to use this icon for its customer peace of mind.

Nowadays seafood consumers are becoming more and more aware of the sustainable resources and based on this, the Namibian fishing companies has decided to be MSC awarded. Sustainability of seafood is a very big issue to Seawork. We have already qualified for the MSC certification but before being qualified for this, we had to respect every policies, requirements and assessments in order to have this blue MSC label in our all Hake fish products being exported worldwide. First of all, seafood environmental standard is our priority. Even the MSC certifies that environmental standard should be respected. This has been contributed by the law imposed by the Namibian government.

Because of all these precautions the biomass of the Hake population has increased by 34% which is a growth from 701,000 to 936,000tons in one year. The Government has even increased the Total Annual Catch (TAC) from 130,000tonnes in 2007 to 145,000tonnes in 2010. This shows that the Namibian authority has well monitored the Hake population and has carefully taken required precautions in order not to affect the marine environment. Also the Worldwide Fund has stated that there has not been overfishing in the zone 47.

Strict rules and regulations have been imposed by the Government in order to manage the fish stock and also prevent over-exploitation. Trawling for Hake is not permitted in less than 200 m depth, in order not to affect other species natural habitat and to minimize by-catch. Also, it helps from young fish species being caught.

The closed season lasts for at least one or two months, September and October, depending on research results of stock Levels in order to ensure natural regeneration and to allow regrowth of populations.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources continues to conduct annual scientific research aimed at quantification of the resources and the state of the environment.

Resource Management exists in FAO region 47 to provide advice and take action needed to manage the sustainable utilization and conservation of living aquatic resources.

http://www.seawork.com.na/sustainability.html