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 across SFM’s market floor and all meals prepared at Sydney Seafood School, stringently adhere to this standard.

SFM’s Quality Assurance Program and HACCP systems are designed not only to ensure that the seafood sold by SFM is safe to eat but also to ensure that the highest levels of quality, truth in labelling and customer satisfaction are achieved.  Consisting of documented policies, procedures and specifications, the Quality Assurance Program and HACCP system is audited every six months against internationally recognised standards (AS/NZS ISO 9001:2000 and Codex Alimentarius Alinorm: 97/13A (HACCP)) 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 at the annual Australian HACCP Conference Award for best company in the large high-risk category.

SFM has a Quality Assurance Department with three specialised, trained, staff who monitor and implement improvements to the HACCP system.  All SFM’s market floor staff are HACCP trained and offered the opportunity to undertake the National Seafood Industry training package, ‘Certificate 3 in Seafood Sales and Distribution’.

Several publications have been produced and distributed to employees and suppliers including ‘Sydney Fish Market Seafood Handling Guidelines’ and a new employee induction manual.  These act as benchmarks for the grading and safe handling of seafood.

The Quality Assurance Program is backed up by a number of support programs:

• Personal hygiene policy
• Storage and disposal of waste
• Temperature control
• Hand washing and toilet facilities
• Cleaning and sanitising programme
• Prevention of foreign object contamination
• Equipment repair, maintenance and calibration
• Preparation of food in Sydney Seafood School

HACCP

HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) was initially developed by the Pillsbury Company to ensure food safety in the United States space programme.  The HACCP system is recognised internationally as the best approach to ensuring food safety and concentrates on preventing problems before they occur, rather than detecting them after the fact.