Enrich the oceans

Safety Initiatives

Delivering Safety and Reliability to Our Customers

1. factory certifications

Kita Sanriku Factory acquired FSSC22000, an international certification standard for food safety management systems, which aims to provide safe food products to consumers by practicing more reliable product safety management in order to address global food safety measures.

At the same time, we also obtained ISO 22000, which is the basis for FSSC 22000, and JFS-C, a food safety management certification scheme originating in Japan.

2.Traceability System

Traceability refers to the process of making a product traceable from the procurement of raw materials to its production, consumption, and disposal, in order to clarify "where, when, and by whom the product was produced. Traceability has become increasingly important in recent years, not only to improve product quality, but also to increase safety awareness, and has spread to a wide range of fields such as foods and pharmaceuticals.

Kitasanriku Factory has developed a traceability system with the aim of providing consumers with safe and secure water products. By reading the QR code attached to the product, it is possible to read the product's production information.

The traceability of the product, which has been rare in the field of water products, will not only ensure the deliciousness of the sea urchin, but will also connect the student and the consumer, providing safety and security and new value. The traceability system that backs up the sea urchin cultivation technology and taste has been developed under the guidance of research institutes and experts, and with the support of the Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry.

3. Our philosophy for product development

When developing our products, we have established our own development safety standards to ensure that our products are safe for everyone from children to the elderly.

We do not use alum, and we sell products that make the most of natural ingredients without additives.

Efforts to Regenerate Sea Urchin Cultivation

In order to change the current situation in which we are forced to dispose of sea urchins that are too thin due to lack of food due to isoyake problem, Kitasanriku Factory has established its own "sea urchin regenerative aquaculture" technology, which provides high quality taste, good harvest, speed of growth, processing and sales, and provides total support to businesses that are in the same kind of trouble. We also provide total support for businesses troubled by similar circumstances, from the start of the aquaculture business to shipping and sales channels.

Learn more.

Seaweed bed restoration efforts

Utilizing sea urchin shells to regenerate seaweed beds in isoyake areas

As part of our commitment to sustainability, we also promote the use of sea urchin shells, which would otherwise become industrial waste.

Sea urchin shells, which are expensive to dispose of, are mixed with natural rubber and sunk into the sea as compost blocks, where they are planted with seaweed seeds such as kelp.

This compost block manufacturing and seaweed bed restoration initiative is being developed in the town of Shakotan town, Hokkaido.

This initiative is currently undergoing a demonstration experiment.

Sea urchin shells (disposal fee 50 yen per kg)*Photo is from a prior example in Shakotan Town.
Compost block manufactured with sea urchin shells and natural rubber*Photo is from a prior example in Shakotan Town.
Before installation of compost blocks*Photo is from a prior example in Shakotan Town.
Six months after installation of compost blocks*Photo is from a prior example in Shakotan Town.

How we achieve Sustainability

Save the future of the sea through regenerative sea urchin farming.

Regeneration of sea urchin and seaweed,
The first regenerative aquaculture system "UNI-VERSE" has been established.

The Hokusanriku Factory, a leading sea urchin producer in the Tohoku region of Japan, has conducted research with Hokkaido University and research institutions to jointly develop various patented technologies for sea urchin cultivation. The company has also established the world's first innovative sea urchin regenerative aquaculture system "UNI-VERSE" to solve the problem of sea isopycosis.

In order to expand this technology not only in Japan but also in other parts of the world, KSF will establish a local subsidiary in Australia (KSF Australia) in 2023. This will be the first time for KSF Australia to engage in sea urchin cultivation outside of Japan. Furthermore, KSF will accelerate its business development to solve the problem of rocky shores in the world's oceans and to enrich them.

Regeneration of sea urchin and seaweed,
The first regenerative aquaculture system "UNI-VERSE" has been established.

The Hokusanriku Factory, a leading sea urchin producer in the Tohoku region of Japan, has conducted research with Hokkaido University and research institutions to jointly develop various patented technologies for sea urchin cultivation. The company has also established the world's first innovative sea urchin regenerative aquaculture system "UNI-VERSE" to solve the problem of sea isopycosis.

In order to expand this technology not only in Japan but also in other parts of the world, KSF will establish a local subsidiary in Australia (KSF Australia) in 2023. This will be the first time for KSF Australia to engage in sea urchin cultivation outside of Japan. Furthermore, KSF will accelerate its business development to solve the problem of rocky shores in the world's oceans and to enrich them.