Washington Food Safety Consultant
HACCP, Preventive Controls, and SQF programs for food and beverage businesses on both sides of the Cascades.
Washington is really two food states divided by a mountain range. West of the Cascades, the rainy Puget Sound corridor runs on coffee, seafood, and natural-food brands. East of the crest, in the dry sunshine of the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin, sits one of the most productive farm regions in the country: the nation's leader in apples, sweet cherries, pears, and hops, plus wine, potatoes, and dairy at enormous scale. A Seattle roaster and a Yakima packing house share a state agency but little else. Wherever you operate in Washington, we do the hands-on work of building your food safety plans, prerequisite programs, and traceability, then rehearse the audit so nothing surprises you. We work on-site and remotely, and we build it with your team.
- 500+
- GFSI audits led by our Chief Food Safety Officer, Dave Seddon.
- 8+
- Certification and audit schemes we prepare you for.
- 70%
- Less time spent on compliance documentation.
The Cascades divide Washington's food economy in two
No single industry defines Washington food. The Cascade crest splits the state into a wet, urban west and a dry, agricultural east, and the two make almost entirely different things. Understanding which side you are on, and what it produces, is the starting point for the right program.
WEST OF THE CASCADES
Coast, city, and cold water
The Puget Sound corridor from Seattle to Tacoma and Bellingham, where the food economy is urban and marine.
- Coffee roasting and specialty beverage
- Salmon, crab, groundfish, and shellfish processing
- Natural, organic, and better-for-you packaged brands
- Co-packers, bakeries, and distribution
EAST OF THE CASCADES
Sun, soil, and scale
The Yakima Valley, Columbia Basin, and Spokane, an agricultural powerhouse feeding national and export markets.
- Apples, cherries, and pears, the nation's largest supply
- Hops and wine, with the country's leading hop harvest
- Potatoes and frozen fries at industrial scale
- Dairy, wheat, onions, and tree-fruit packing
The same standard, tuned to what each part of the state grows
Production concentrates differently across Washington, and each cluster carries its own hazards and audits. A sampling of where we work:
Seattle and Tacoma
Coffee, seafood, natural-food brands, co-packers, and distribution across the urban west side.
Tree fruit and wine country
Apple, cherry, and pear packing houses, hop processors, and a booming wine industry.
Tri-Cities and Moses Lake
Potato and frozen-fry processing, onions, and vegetable operations at industrial scale.
Inland Northwest
Breweries, bakeries, grain and pulse processing, and distribution serving the interior.
Bellingham and the border
Berries, dairy, and seafood near the Canadian line, with cross-border trade.
Pacific shoreline
Shellfish, oysters, and seafood along the coast and Willapa Bay under strict controls.
One agency covers the whole state, with a wide net
Washington regulates food manufacturing through the WSDA Food Safety Program, and its definition of processing is unusually broad. The pieces that most often apply, wherever you are:
Food Processor License - WSDA FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM
If you cook, bake, freeze, slice, dehydrate, smoke, roast coffee beans, bottle water, or repackage food for wholesale, you need a WSDA Food Processor License, issued after an inspection scored against a substantial-compliance standard.
Tree fruit, produce, and warehouses - WSDA / PRODUCE SAFETY RULE
Packing houses and produce operations fall under the Produce Safety Rule, and holding food for wholesale requires a separate Food Storage Warehouse License, common across the east-side packing and cold-storage economy.
Seafood and juice - HACCP WSDA / FDA, 21 CFR 123 AND 120
Licensing fish and fishery products requires a written HACCP plan per product type with qualified training on file, and juice carries its own HACCP requirement.
Acidified and canned foods - WSDA / FDA
Acidified and low-acid canned foods, including many sauces and shelf-stable specialty products, need a filed process and a recognized process authority.
Retail, shellfish, and dairy - WA DOH / LOCAL HEALTH
Retail and food service fall under the Department of Health and local jurisdictions, shellfish carries its own certification, and dairy has dedicated oversight.
Inspections are risk-based and, after the first, unannounced, with a Notice of Correction and a 30-day window when violations are found. Interstate sales add FDA Preventive Controls under 21 CFR 117, and covered foods, including much of the state's fresh produce, bring FSMA 204 traceability. We help you reach and hold substantial compliance so an unannounced visit is a non-event.
Anchored in one Washington market? Start there
We support food and beverage businesses across the entire state, on-site and remotely. If your operation is centered in one region, our local pages go deeper on that market's industries and requirements.
Seattle
Coffee roasters, seafood processors, natural-food brands, and co-packers across the Puget Sound.
Yakima Valley
Tree-fruit packing houses, hop processors, and wineries across the central valley.
Tri-Cities
Potato, frozen-fry, and vegetable processing across the Columbia Basin.
Spokane
Breweries, bakeries, and grain and pulse processing in the Inland Northwest.
Tacoma
Distribution, co-packing, and food manufacturing across the South Sound.
All Washington locations
Browse every Washington community we serve, from the coast to the Idaho line.
Programs for every corner of Washington food
Tree fruit and packing houses
Apple, cherry, and pear packers under the Produce Safety Rule and warehouse licensing.
Potato and vegetable processing
Columbia Basin frozen-fry and vegetable plants operating at industrial scale.
Seafood and shellfish
Puget Sound and coastal processors under seafood HACCP and shellfish certification.
Coffee, beverage, and wine
Roasters, breweries, cideries, and wineries handling process and acidification controls.
Dairy and natural foods
Dairy plants and natural, organic, and better-for-you brands scaling into retail.
Warehousing and distribution
Cold storage and distribution across both sides of the state carrying traceability duties.
Certifications that move product from orchard to shelf
We prepare Washington facilities for the certifications and regulatory frameworks that packers, retailers, exporters, and inspectors expect, then keep the program running between audits.
HACCP
SQF
BRCGS
FSSC 22000
FSMA Preventive Controls
GMP and cGMP
FSMA 204
GFSI-aligned
One platform for a packing house or a roastery
Our consultants get you compliant, and the platform keeps you there. Built with expert guidance and tuned to different industries, it captures the records a Washington operation needs, from a seasonal packing crew to a year-round processor.
AI HACCP Builder
Pre-built templates cut HACCP plan development from hours to minutes, with expert guidance built in.
AI SOPs and Checklists
Automatically generates SOPs and checklists, flags missed tasks, and keeps protocols on track.
Batch and Inventory
Real-time tracking of production, inventory, and cost, reducing errors that create compliance gaps.
Traceability and Recall
Links ingredients to finished products for fast mock recalls and clean, defensible audits.
Supplier Compliance
Automates supplier document management and updates, cutting manual effort and adding transparency.
Live Monitoring and Alerts
Dashboards track KPIs in real time and send instant alerts on incidents so you can act quickly.
One method, whether you are west or east of the crest
Assess
We review your operation against your target standard and WSDA licensing, ending in a prioritized plan tied to your season or audit date.
Build
We create or refine hazard analysis, preventive controls, SOPs, produce or seafood programs, supplier approval, and traceability.
Verify
We design environmental monitoring and sanitation controls so the program holds up under real production and peak season.
Rehearse
We run a mock audit, coach your recordkeepers, and close remaining gaps with effective corrective actions before the real thing.
Co-Founder & Chief Food Safety Officer
Meet the Lead of Our Expert Washington Food Safety Consultant Team
Driven to ensure organizational requirements meet the challenges of technology integration with sound food safety and quality planning with focus on risk mitigation and prevention. Technical expertise in audit standards, lead instructor via accredited programs, and community leader to advance local / national food ecosystems.
What Washington food teams say
"We like the customizable options and ease of use. The support that comes with it. We would not have been able to pass our audit without the support staff of FoodReady."
"I have been building food safety programs for companies since 2009 and this process has taken anywhere from 6 months to a year, including facilities that had USDA in place to make them comply with FSMA and GFSI. I needed Eurobake to reach compliance at a faster rate."
"What I noticed is that every other food safety software we looked at starts from a premise, either accounting or manufacturing, or in the worst case scenario, manufacturing and then accounting, and the food safety module is an afterthought. The food safety features are bolted onto a dinosaur of a software program."
"FoodReady prevents over-purchasing and over (or under) production. It makes forecasting easy."
What operators across the state ask us
Who licenses food manufacturers in Washington?
The WSDA Food Safety Program licenses and inspects food processors and warehouses statewide, scoring inspections against a substantial-compliance standard. Retail and food service fall under the Department of Health and local jurisdictions, and interstate sales bring FDA jurisdiction.
Do you serve eastern Washington, not just Seattle?
Yes. We work across the whole state, from Puget Sound to the Yakima Valley, Tri-Cities, Wenatchee, and Spokane, on-site and with hybrid remote sessions, including seasonal packing and processing operations.
We process seafood or shellfish. What is required?
Licensing fish and fishery products in Washington requires a written seafood HACCP plan per product type with qualified training, and shellfish carries its own certification. Smoked and RTE seafood also need Listeria controls and environmental monitoring. We build all of it.
We run a tree-fruit packing house. What applies to us?
Packing houses generally fall under the Produce Safety Rule, and holding fruit for wholesale usually needs a Food Storage Warehouse License. Many packers also pursue GFSI certification such as SQF or a Harmonized GAP audit for their buyers. We build the program and prepare you for the audit.
Can you prepare us for SQF, BRCGS, or other GFSI audits?
Yes. We prepare facilities for SQF, BRCGS, and FSSC 22000, plus HACCP, FSMA Preventive Controls, GMP and cGMP, and USDA documentation. We run gap assessments, build documentation, run mock audits, and coach staff. We do not provide certification training.
How do Washington inspections work?
WSDA inspections are risk-based and, after the initial licensing inspection, unannounced. A firm reaches substantial compliance by scoring well with no critical violations, and any violations come with a Notice of Correction and a 30-day window. We help you build systems that hold up between visits.
Talk to a food safety expert about your Washington operation
Book a free consultation with our food safety and quality team, and get a clear path to your next WSDA license, audit, or inspection.