Learn to SALSA with Seafish and SFQC

SFQC has obtained support for this project from Scotland Food and Drink and funding from the Scottish Government’s Marketing Development Grant Scheme for quality assurance mentoring on a match funding basis. On this basis, Seafish and SFQC are now able to offer two days worth of free mentoring and advice to small businesses interested in applying for SALSA certification for the first time.

Richard Wardell, Training & Accreditation Adviser at Seafish, said: "This is a unique opportunity for seafood businesses wishing to achieve SALSA certification. The pre-audit support is supplied by an approved mentor who is available at the convenience of the business. The mentoring and advice can take place in person, as well as via e-mail and over the phone. This flexible style of training enables seafood businesses to prepare for the final audit more efficiently."

“We are very pleased to work with Seafish to offer this type of mentoring for small businesses and we are keen to offer this training to as many businesses as possible to further develop the number of SALSA-certified businesses in Scotland,” said Tim Bailey, Chief Executive of SFQC.

SALSA is a not-for-profit, approval scheme for local food and drink businesses supplying products aimed at meeting standards expected by national buyers. It is based upon a standard, the fundamentals of which are product safety, legality and quality and provision of demonstrable due diligence.

The scheme was set up because smaller suppliers were finding industry acceptable quality assurance standards overly expensive or with disproportionate requirements. The need for this has been highlighted by an increasing drive for locally sourced food, particularly from food service companies and retailers. It is designed to offer local food manufacturers a consistent standard that is accepted by the UK food buying community and which delivers tangible food safety improvements for both suppliers and buyers.

Danny Couper Snr, director of Couper Seafoods in Aberdeen said: "The SALSA mentoring funded by Seafish assisted us greatly in achieving SALSA certification. Since obtaining SALSA certification, I've been delighted with the positive response we've had from our customers. SALSA certification is a fantastic scheme which can help raise standards in the UK seafood processing industry."