Highest standards crucial, says Lochhead – Fishupdate.com

SCOTTISH Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead today underlined the need for the highest possible standards in the seafood sector.And he said there is a “huge opportunity” for the new Scottish Government to ensure that fish and seafood is at the heart of food strategy.

Mr Lochhead was in Aberdeen to present awards to seafood companies for their commitment to staff training and development .

He gave the awards at a ceremony at the city’s Ashvale Restaurant on behalf of the Scottish Seafood Training Association (SSTA) and he underlined that in order to have a sustainable seafood sector in Scotland, they must ensure that compliance with safety and hygiene is a top priority.

“The SSTA have been committed to the training and development of staff for many years and I am pleased to recognise on their behalf those companies who share their vision,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister said that fishing is 10 times more important in Scotland than the rest of th UK.

“It is of huge economic importance and Scotland has a fantastic reputation for producing food which can be trusted.

“We are absolutely determined to start promoting much more Scotland’s contribution to producing food.

“The food agenda is extremely important to Scotland because people want to source local food, fresh food and healthy food and seafood produce qualifies under all these headings and of course this is becoming really important internatonally as well.And I think there is a tremendous opportunity for the new Government to make sure that fish and seafood are at the heart of food strategy and food policy.”

The Scottish Seafood Training Association (SSTA) is one of the Group Training Associations (GTAs) provided by the Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish).

The SSTA works to assist and support companies in complying with health and safety, hygiene and other regulations that affect the seafood industry. This is achieved by organising a wide range of training courses on topics such as health and safety, hygiene, forklift training, filleting, smoking, first aid etc. They can also supply a wide range of flexible open learning modules and additional material such as videos and flexible training materials are also available.

Today’s recipients of certificates for outstanding contribution to staff training with the seafood industry were:

Inshore Fish Supplies, Macduff; Young’s Seafood Ltd, Fraserburgh, Whitelink Seafoods Ltd, Fraserburgh; Gourmet’s Choice Ltd, Portsoy; Lunar Freezing and Cold Storage, Peterhead; Caley Fisheries Ltd, Peterhead; Trawlpac Seafoods, Aberdeen; The Ashvale, Aberdeen;

Low’s Traditional Fish and Chips, Westhill; The Bay Fish and Chips, Stonehaven; International Fish Canners, Fraserburgh; Granite City Fish, Aberdeen

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