This announcement is being made on behalf of Culinary Collaborations LLC
Press Release - February 8, 2021
Rochester, New York– Culinary Collaborations LLC (CCL)—one of North America’s top sushi ingredient wholesalers—today became the first company to make a public time-bound commitment to implement the new GDST 1.0 standards. These standards, launched by the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) last March, are the first global standards for tracking seafood products from point of origin to point of sale.
Michael McNicholas, CCL's managing director, participated actively in the GDST standards drafting process, and serves as one of eleven industry leaders on the GDST Steering Committee. A long proponent of electronic traceability, McNicholas believes that implementation of GDST 1.0 is a must for any company seeking to remain competitive in today’s global seafood industry.
“Digitization is the next logical step to reduce costs of regulatory compliance, enable traceability, and increase supply chain efficiency. GDST 1.0 will help encourage digitization while also ensuring that companies modernizing their traceability practices get greater system longevity and better returns on investment.” - Michael McNicholas
CCL is a leading ingredients development and distribution company that specializes in clean and all-natural products for large sushi operators in North America. Under its new GDST commitment, CCL will begin implementing GDST 1.0 this year and envisions a two-year rollout plan starting with their suppliers in Japan and Korea. CCL anticipates having more than 70% of its seafood supply chain fully implementing GDST 1.0 by the end of 2021 and 100% by no later than December 2022.
A few of CCL’s partner suppliers are already implementing GDST 1.0 throughout their global supply chains. One such supplier is the New Zealand based king salmon company, Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon, which has worked with CCL to implement the GDST 1.0 standards by utilizing Trace Register’s latest full-chain traceability platform, TR5. Trace Register’s goal is to help seafood businesses like Mt Cook Alpine Salmon and Culinary Collaborations tell their story to their customers and consumers.
“TR5 enables companies to meet the needs of GDST 1.0 and supports the growing trend of interoperability. A complete traceability report can now be passed along to anyone, even if they do not have a traceability system. All that is needed is access to a browser and an internet connection, and the report is with the requester in minutes. The results are higher margins, less risk along with fewer problems, and ultimately, more satisfied consumers,” explained Phil Werdal, Founder and CEO, Trace Register.
CCL’s commitment to provide the finest quality and safest products is paramount to the success and growth of not only their company but of their customer base and production partners as well. By collecting and sharing standardized data through each node of the supply chain using the GDST 1.0 standards, CCL will help its customers visualize their supply chains with much greater clarity and richer data to make strategic business decisions. CCL hopes others will join them in this critical journey to improve traceability and end illegal fishing in the global seafood industry by adopting and implementing GDST 1.0 today.
Contact: Bebhinn Morrissey |bebhinn@culinary-collaborations.com
About the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST)
The GDST is an international, business-to-business forum established to advance a unified framework for interoperable and verifiable seafood traceability. The Dialogue brings together more than five dozen companies from around the globe and across different parts of the seafood supply chain. In March 2020, after a multi-year industry-led drafting process, the GDST released the first-ever global standard (GDST 1.0) governing information content and data formats for seafood traceability systems. Learn more at www.traceability-dialogue.org.
About Culinary Collaborations LLC (CCL)
Culinary Collaborations LLC is a sushi ingredients development and distribution company specializing in clean and all-natural products for retail and foodservice operations. CCL currently supplies to some of the top retail-sushi-to-go retailers in North America. Their mission is to assist customers to discover the highest quality seafood and sushi ingredients from sustainable, traceable producers worldwide.
About Trace Register
Trace Register is the proven full-chain traceability leader in the global seafood industry. Our tailored solutions help every member of the supply chain, from a single producer to an enterprise-level company. Users are able to provide the complete product story while keeping proprietary information confidential. Members of the supply chain, including fishers, farmers, processors, importers, and retailers, can ensure products meet their requirements while achieving higher margins, and more satisfied customers. Founded in 2005, Trace Register serves clients in more than 50 countries. Visit www.traceregister.com to learn more.
About Mt Cook Alpine Salmon
Mt Cook Alpine Salmon is an exclusive producer of Freshwater King Salmon. Its unique growing environment in the constantly flowing waterways of the southern alps of New Zealand results in a fish of superb quality and taste. The company has multiple hatcheries, 5 grow-out farms, a modern primary processing plant, and a well-equipped smokehouse. It ships its salmon to high-end markets around the world. Mt Cook is rated green by Monterey Bay Aquarium and maintains a maximum star rating with BAP. www.mtcookalpinesalmon.co.nz.