Where Food Comes From, Inc. Announces Investment in BlueTrace Seafood Traceability Company
03 Aprile 2023 - 2:00PM
Where Food Comes From, Inc. (WFCF) (Nasdaq: WFCF), the most trusted
resource for independent, third-party verification of food
production practices in North America, today announced it has made
an equity investment in leading seafood traceability company
BlueTrace.
Privately held BlueTrace offers a powerful cloud-based
traceability solution that helps shellfish harvesters, growers,
distributors and dealers comply with government regulations, manage
their inventories and optimize profitability. The Company recently
completed an oversubscribed stock offering led by leading venture
capital and angel investors, the proceeds of which are intended to
accelerate BlueTrace’s growth plans.
Based in Castine, Maine, fast-growing BlueTrace has more than
350 customers – primarily in the shellfish industry – in all but
two coastal U.S. states and most Canadian provinces. The Company’s
digital traceability solution uses a mobile app and tamper evident
barcode tags to replace traditional paper-based tracking solutions
that have become more challenging in light of increasingly
stringent traceability standards. Those standards are established
and enforced by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Commission
(ISSC), which is particularly focused on safety issues around
freshness and temperature.
BlueTrace is expected to benefit from ongoing implementation of
the Food Safety Modernization Act, which is expanding traceability
beyond shellfish to include other types of seafood beginning in
2023. The Company’s software and systems, designed originally to
address the oyster industry, are seamlessly adaptable for the
broader seafood landscape.
John Saunders, Chairman and CEO of Where Food Comes From,
commented, “We are very impressed with the team at BlueTrace and
believe the solution they have developed has the potential to have
a major impact in seafood traceability on a worldwide basis. In
addition to making a modest investment in BlueTrace, we expect to
collaborate with their team in areas that augment our own
initiatives in the seafood space, including our FishCARE
sustainability standard.”
Chip Terry, CEO of BlueTrace, added, “We are pleased to welcome
Where Food Comes From as an investor in our business. As the leader
in land-based animal and crop traceability and verification, WFCF
has a wealth of industry expertise that will be beneficial to us as
we expand into other areas of the seafood industry.
More than 70% of seafood consumed in North America is sourced
overseas, so we see a tremendous opportunity for international
expansion by both companies.”
About Where Food Comes From, Inc. Where Food
Comes From, Inc. is America’s trusted resource for third party
verification of food production practices. Through proprietary
technology and patented business processes, the Company estimates
that it supports more than 17,500 farmers, ranchers, vineyards,
wineries, processors, retailers, distributors, trade associations,
consumer brands and restaurants with a wide variety of value-added
services. Through its IMI Global, Validus Verification Services,
SureHarvest, WFCF Organic (previously known as International
Certification Services and A Bee Organic), and Postelsia units,
Where Food Comes From solutions are used to verify food claims,
optimize production practices and enable food supply chains with
analytics and data driven insights. In addition, the Company’s
Where Food Comes From® retail and restaurant labeling program uses
web-based customer education tools to connect consumers to the
sources of the food they purchase, increasing meaningful consumer
engagement for our clients.
About BlueTraceBlueTrace offers the easiest and
most powerful traceability platform for seafood growers,
wholesalers, distributors, and dealers. Its mobile solutions,
designed specifically for the seafood industry, enable users to
reduce redundant data entry and errors, streamline operations, and
trace their products from tideline to table. Learn more
at blue-trace.com.CAUTIONARY STATEMENT This
news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, based on current expectations, estimates and projections that
are subject to risk. Forward-looking statements are inherently
uncertain, and actual events could differ materially from the
Company’s predictions. Important factors that could cause actual
events to vary from predictions include those discussed in our SEC
filings. Specifically, statements in this news release about
industry leadership and demand for, and impact and efficacy of, the
Company’s products and services on the marketplace; and the
Company’s efforts to build the seafood component of its service mix
are forward-looking statements that are subject to a variety of
factors, including availability of capital, personnel and other
resources; competition; governmental regulation of the agricultural
and seafood industry; the market for proteins and other
commodities; and other factors. Readers should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company assumes
no obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect
new information or developments. For a more extensive discussion of
the Company’s business, please refer to the Company’s SEC filings
at www.sec.gov.
COMPANY CONTACTS
Where Food Comes From, Inc.Jay
PfeifferDirector, Investor
Relations303-880-9000jpfeiffer@wherefoodcomesfrom.com
BlueTraceAlessandra
BoscoBlueTrace202-821-7245alessandra@blue-trace.com
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