U.S – West Coast Cold Storage (WCCS) has attained Safe Quality Foods (SQF) certification for their new state-of-the-art facility just six months after commencing operations.
Southern California based food-grade warehousing and 3PL service provider, earned the certification after completing the rigorous SQF auditing process with an outstanding score of 97 out of 100.
“Acquiring this certification was an important milestone. To be SQF certified should give WCCS customers tremendous confidence that our new facility is capable of maintaining the highest levels of operational practices to meet both customer and regulatory requirements,” stated Ricardo Rios, Manager, West Coast Cold Storage.
The facility features 70,000 Sq. Ft. of frozen space and 50,000 Sq. Ft. of refrigerated cooler space with more than 22,000 pallet positions and 19 refrigerated dock doors.
WCCS is centrally located in a critical transportation corridor in Southern California with easy access to the port of Long Beach and the I-10, I-215, I-15 and CA-60 freeways.
Since opening its doors in February of 2022, the facility has been filling rapidly with customers delivering food quality products throughout the region, reports Cision PR Newswire.
“Achieving this certification in our first months of operation is an impressive accomplishment for our team. It speaks volumes to the dedication and hard work everyone puts forth daily to ensure our customer’s products are handled with care and stored in clean, food safe environments,” said West Coast Cold Storage’s Managing Partner, Shannon Welch.
West Coast Cold Storage partnered with design-build general contractor ARCO National Construction for the design and construction of the facility.
The founders of WCCS have more than 20 years of experience in cold storage, logistics, and warehousing.
The certification, administered by the Food Marketing Institute and recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), is a meticulous food safety management system that allows food quality control systems to be verified and validated throughout the food supply chain.
SQF is recognized by regulatory agencies around the world as the quality standard for food safety.
Level 1 SQF Certification is the “introduction” level to food safety. It requires the producer to be cognizant of and to implement fundamental food-safety controls.
Level 2 SQF Certification is also known as the “Certified HACCP-Based Food Safety Plan.” It incorporates the Level 1 requirements and adds Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) risk assessment and implementation. Level 2 is considered a food-safety plan.
Contrary to the two levels, Level 3 SQF Certification is a “Comprehensive Food Safety and Quality Management System.” This level of certification includes the elements from Level 1 and Level 2, taking the process one step further, ensuring that action has been taken to correct or prevent poor quality or contamination through the HACCP process.
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