Seafood traceability firm Trace Register has announced a partnership with Foa & Son International Insurance Brokers, enabling seafood companies to bundle traceability and insurance services.
“Foa & Son is a trusted partner with deep expertise in the seafood industry," Foa & Son Senior Vice President Peter Sollecito said. "The partnership demonstrates our ongoing efforts to support the seafood industry and lead with proactive, innovative risk management solutions.”
Trace Register will partner with Foa & Son to provide customers with a unique incentive to attain product contamination and recall insurance.
The incentive effectively halves the 10 percent premium cost of pre-crisis consultation services by putting 5 percent of it toward Trace Register seafood traceability subscription costs, allowing consumers to bundle services and save.
"It is a big win for our customers," Trace Register Senior Vice President of Sales Chris Bradford said. "This first-of-its-kind offering for the seafood industry reinforces our dedication to meet our customers where they are. It addresses the tight margins in the seafood industry while providing critical brand protection and operational savings.”
Recent changes to food safety laws have added bureaucratic hoops that businesses must jump through in the U.S.
As the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), meant to protect consumers from the risk of foodborne illnesses, has come into effect in stages over the last decade, seafood companies have had to adapt to increasingly stringent requirements which mandate monitoring and documentation throughout the supply chain.
In January 2026, the FDA will begin enforcing FSMA Section 204, which requires companies to maintain extensive records with key data elements (KDEs) related to what the FDA terms critical tracking events (CTEs). When Section 204 becomes active, companies will generally have 24 hours to provide the FDA with requested documentation.
Trace Register President Heath England said that regardless of the outcome of U.S. presidential election, FSMA Section 204 will most likely be enforced as plan.
“It’s important to understand that this is already law,” he said at the 2024 Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain, in April. “They’ve simply said, ‘We’re not going to enforce it until 20 January 2026.’ There are some people running around going, ‘Well, the law will get repealed, or something will change.’ There is a very slim chance that that enforcement date might get moved – but I certainly wouldn’t count on it because they’ve given us a lot of time.”
England expects companies to need expert guidance to navigate the new rules.
“I’ve spoken with a lot of producers in other countries over the past several months, and they will say things like, ‘Well, I’m just going to let my broker take care of that. That’s not the way this works. There is information that you as a manufacturer or you as a producer must generate and keep if you wish to do business in the U.S. with items on the food traceability list, which comprise the vast majority of seafood," he said. “If you don’t understand FSMA and you’re not gearing up to get ready for it, you need to."
