The Man Behind Seatrace
Christian Schmidradner
"Sustainability isn't just a hip buzzword for us, nor is it a clever CSR campaign," says our managing partner and COO, Christian Schmidradner. "At the core of SeaTrace is this guiding principle in everything that we do. It informs and influences our thoughts, ideas, and actions. You can say that sustainability is who we are because it's also what we do."
Christian Schmidradner is the country's top expert on sustainability, with a vast experience in sustainable supply chain consulting and sustainable seafood sourcing, production, and trading. Aside from leading SeaTrace, he is also the founder of The Philippine Sustainability Movement which has mounted the pioneering Philippine Sustainability Month in 2019. The month-long series of events focused on Philippine and global supply chains highlighting sustainable seafood, organic and integrated farming, seaweed products, food waste reduction, plastic-reducing solutions, sustainable tourism, and energy and water management.
In the past, Christian also initiated the Sustainable Seafood Week Philippines which brought together stakeholders in an effort to improve the situation of the seafood supply chains and the condition of our oceans.
OUR MISSION
Leading the way in seafood sustainability and traceability
SeaTrace carries a wide portfolio of responsibly caught and farmed seafood. In an effort to promote sustainability, we bring in, trade, and deliver only high-quality and ethically sourced products to the market. To ensure this, we implement a strict traceability process that maps out where they come from and how they get to you—from ocean to plate.
OUR VISION
The vanguards of sustainable seafood in the Philippines
Our pursuit toward sustainability propels us to not only bring in ethically sourced product solutions. We also aim to see a world that understands the importance of sustainability, so we spread awareness and transfer knowledge on ethical fishing practices and traceability.
The SeaTrace Operational Hub
This is where everything happens
The Ruby Commisary Complex
Inside the 5,350-square meter compound, there are areas for fresh and chilled product operations and tuna processing. Following strict safety and cleanliness standards, we see to it that our processing flow is observed at all times. Seafood receiving, packaging, and product dispatch never cross paths. Our employees also come in separately and are sanitized, wearing color-coded clothes to identify different departments such as carrying, butchering, and packing.
Live warehouse
Monitored 24/7, our recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) tanks are maintained at ideal temperatures, salinity, and parameters. Currently, we have a live holding tank capacity of up to 20,000 gallons of seawater. SeaTrace is a proud recipient of these certifications from a third-party audit: Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP), and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). We are also certified by international organizations such as the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Locally, SeaTrace has the nod of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with its Food Safety Standard.
Hightower Cold Storage
This temperature-controlled facility houses our frozen products, ensuring that they are kept at consistent and optimal temperatures to retain freshness and top-notch quality.
SeaTrace International is part of the TAO Corporation, one of the Philippines’ top 500 companies. It has over 3,000 employees and almost 30 ventures. Anchored in its purpose to feed, sustain, and deliver joy in people’s lives, TAO specializes in businesses that cater to food and nutrition, health and wellness, and lifestyle. SeaTrace belongs under the TAO Foods division, together with brands like Barista Coffee and Nacho King Corporation, among others.
SeaTrace has expanded its export capabilities to include MSC certified Yellowfin Tuna, enabling the company to distribute this product to the United States, the European Union (specifically Vienna), and the United Arab Emirates (specifically Dubai).
Going the extra mile in food safety through histamine analysis
We want you to get only seafood of the best quality. That's why we put a high regard on food safety. We do this by monitoring the histamine levels of the fish in our facility.
High levels of histamine affects the fish's quality. These also pose a threat to food safety and may cause scombrotoxin fish poisoning or histamine poisining. We at SeaTrace adhere to the histamine levels set by regulatory authorities.
Aside from ensuring proper food supply chain to prevent histamine formation, we also have a state-of-the-art Histamine Analysis Machine that allows us to find out the histamine levels in our products in just a few hours. Every batch of fish for export coming from SeaTrace now includes histamine reports to guarantee food safety and quality.
Seatrace International places the utmost importance on ensuring food safety. We have successfully acquired the FSSC 22000 accreditation, which is widely acknowledged as a global standard, in order to showcase our unwavering dedication. Our commitment to ensuring food safety remains steadfast, encompassing rigorous quality control measures, adherence to regulatory standards, ongoing enhancements, and the fulfillment of customer expectations.
The accreditation serves as evidence of our continuous endeavors to guarantee the safety and superior quality of our food items, while also minimizing potential dangers.