Founded in 2011 and based in Miami, Florida, Safe Quality Seafood Associates (SQSA) is a small consultancy specializing in food safety and regulatory consulting for the seafood industry. SQSA operates internationally, providing services to seafood harvesters, farmers, and processors, with a strong focus on traceability requirements and third-party standards. What sets SQSA apart from other food safety consultancies is its specific emphasis on seafood traceability, aiming to ensure compliance with both regulatory and third-party standards across the industry.
Why Digital Seafood Traceability MattersFor SQSA, digital seafood traceability is essential in supporting their goal of making the seafood industry more transparent. By helping seafood businesses meet traceability requirements, SQSA plays a crucial role in ensuring that these companies comply with the necessary standards set by government agencies and third-party certifiers. Traceability supports SQSA’s mission to provide quality assurance services and empowers seafood companies to build trust in their supply chains. It also helps demonstrate compliance with traceability requirements, which is increasingly vital in international seafood markets.
Supporting the Seafood Sector
SQSA is actively supporting the seafood sector by educating harvesters, farmers, and processors on how to meet traceability requirements and improve internal programs for auditing and compliance. By focusing on standardized, interoperable approaches to traceability, SQSA ensures that businesses are well-equipped to address internal traceability and recall programs, especially when exporting seafood to the US. GDST’s efforts to create a standardized approach to traceability have raised the bar for the seafood industry, and SQSA is helping its clients embrace this shift to improve the transparency and accountability of their operations.
Contributing to the GDST Standard
SQSA became a GDST partner in 2024 to contribute to the initiative’s goal of making the seafood supply chain more transparent and trustworthy. SQSA sees a strong synergy between GDST’s objectives and its own mission to help seafood companies meet traceability requirements. As a facilitator, SQSA supports the GDST by raising awareness of the standards, educating clients, and promoting the adoption of interoperable, standardized traceability practices. Their work directly aligns with GDST’s efforts to ensure transparency and compliance across the seafood supply chain
Impact of GDST on the Business
GDST has had a significant impact on SQSA’s work by centralizing traceability requirements across multiple government agencies and certification standards into a single, cohesive standard. This has helped SQSA streamline their consulting services, making it easier to help clients adopt best practices for seafood traceability. GDST’s focus on interoperability has also allowed SQSA to guide clients toward the most effective software for capturing and sharing key data elements, ensuring that seafood businesses can meet compliance requirements with greater efficiency.
Long-Term Goals
SQSA’s long-term goal in partnering with GDST is to help drive the widespread adoption of traceability standards within the seafood industry, making it more transparent and trustworthy. Success for SQSA means seeing the seafood supply chain embrace digital traceability, not just to comply with regulations, but as a fundamental way to improve sustainability, efficiency, and accountability throughout the sector.
Advice for Potential GDST Partners
SQSA advises other seafood businesses considering joining GDST to prioritize transparency and commitment to traceability. The seafood industry must continue to raise the bar, even as laws and regulations evolve. A commitment to GDST sends a powerful message about a company’s dedication to maintaining a transparent and ethical supply chain, which ultimately benefits both businesses and consumers alike.
You can learn more about Safe Quality Seafood Associates at: SQSA Website
Explore the benefits of GDST partnership at: GDST Get Involved