Kita-sanriku Factory, Inc. has become Japan’s first EU HACCP-certified facility for handling sea urchin.

Under the corporate mission of “Enriching the World’s Oceans from Kita Sanriku,” Kita-sanriku Factory has been delivering sustainable seafood, centering on sea urchin, to the tables of the world. We are pleased to announce that our flagship facility in Hirono town in Iwate has been accredited as an EU HACCP-certified facility for the handling of exported marine products to the EU. This is the first certification for sea urchin in Japan. In response to the increasing global demand for sea urchin, we acquired this certification to enable us to export high-quality sea urchin to the EU.

What is EU HACCP? 

EU HACCP is a hygiene management method for ensuring food safety that is mandatory for food businesses in the European Union. HACCP is an acronym for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point. It is a system to ensure product safety by analyzing hazard factors and controlling processes at each step from receiving raw materials to final products.

Certificate of Facility for Handling Seafood for Export to EU 

Processing of sea urchin products 

Frozen premium sea urchin from Uni Ranch ®︎ 

Expanding overseas sales channels 

In order to expand overseas sales channels, Kita-sanriku Factory procures seafood from fisheries and aquaculture farms that comply with Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) standards. The company has established a commercial distribution channel with a major U.S. supermarket that is environmentally conscious.

In February 2024, two of our flagship products—“Four-Year Frozen Sea Urchin from Uni Ranch” and “Sea Urchin Butter SPREAD (Uni Butter)”—were nominated as finalists for the Innovation Award at Gulfood, one of the largest and most prestigious food trade fairs in the Middle East.

In 2025, the company is exhibiting at Seafood Expo North America (Boston, USA) and Seafood Expo Global (Barcelona, Spain). In the future, we will also market our reliable sustainable seafood products in other parts of Europe, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, and other EU countries.