First time 3^rd Party Audit receives an exceptional score of 97%

Atlantic Sea Cucumber Ltd. is a fish processing plant in Hackett’s Cove, founded in July 2016. They process wild Canadian sea cucumber caught fresh from the coastal waters of Nova Scotia. Their goal was to have their product available in Costco stores and to access other large chain retail markets at a later date. They reached out to Perennia’s Quality and Food Safety Team requesting assistance with developing and implementing a food safety system that would meet the Costco Food Safety Small Supplier Audit requirements.

Action Plan
Perennia quality and food safety specialist Shelly MacDonald began working with Atlantic Sea Cucumber Ltd. in the spring of 2018. The project started with a gap assessment to the Costco Food Safety Small Supplier Audit requirements to help identify any gaps in the current process and quality management program. Based on the findings, the Quality and Food Safety Team assisted the company with the development and implementation of a food safety program which met Costco requirements.

Result
September 2018, Atlantic Sea Cucumber achieved a score of 97% on the Costco Food Safety Small Supplier Audit allowing them to supply Sea Cucumbers to Costco for online sales. They are currently supplying 6 Provinces (MB, BC, ON, NS, AB, and NL) and gained new customers, which were unknown to them prior to Costco.  They have decided to further develop and implement a GFSI food safety program. Their SQF audit is scheduled for late March 2019 – add Atlantic Sea Cucumber successfully achieved SQF certification.