SFM's Quality Assurance System
Sydney Fish Market (SFM) is Australia’s seafood centre of excellence and strives for the highest levels of quality and customer satisfaction.
SFM voluntarily introduced its Quality Assurance Program, incorporating the hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system in October 1998. Since then SFM has worked to ensure all products sold through SFM's wholesale auction and all meals prepared at Sydney Seafood School adhere to this standard. SFM's Quality Assurance Program and HACCP system are designed to ensure that seafood sold by SFM is:
- safe to eat
- of the highest quality
- accurately labelled
- satisfies the customer.
The system is audited every six months against the internationally recognised ISO 22000:2005 standard by accredited external auditors, NCS International. In 2005, SFM was the first Australian company to be certified to the Australian Seafood Standard and won an award for best company in the large high-risk category at the annual Australian HACCP Conference.
SFM has a quality assurance department with specialised, trained staff who monitor and implement improvements to the Food Safety Management System and the Occupational Health and Safety Standard (AS4801:2001).
The Quality Assurance Program is backed up by a number of support programs:
- personal hygiene policy
- good handling practices
- segregation policy
- calibration
- cleaning
- pest control
- maintenance
- training.
All SFM's wholesale auction staff are HACCP trained and offered the opportunity to undertake the National Seafood Industry training package ,' Certificate 3 in Seafood Processing'.
Several publications have been produced and distributed to employees and suppliers including Sydney Fish Market's Seafood Handling Guidelines and a new employee induction manual. These publications act as a benchmark for the grading and safe handling of seafood.