Getting a Fish Factory Through EU Export-Hygiene Inspection

What the inspection actually examines

Documented, food-grade cleaning: which product, at what dilution, for what contact time, on which surface, verified how. The chemistry itself matters — but the record of the chemistry is what gets read. A plant that cleans brilliantly and documents nothing fails alongside the plant that does neither.

The pre-audit chemical checklist

Acidet on stainless. The segmentation sheet is explicit: Acidet cleans stainless-steel piping and hooks before EU inspection certification. The acid pass removes the mineral haze that alkaline cleaning leaves — the haze that reads as staining under an inspector's torch.

The core hygiene set verified. PSP Powder as the chlorinated alkaline cleaner, Greasolv on fat-bearing floors and equipment, Sypo or Tetramine 2008 as the sanitizer — with the six-month rotation date on record.

The workforce line. Chemkleen Clear at production entrances and hand-wash points, Antisep 100 at the doors, refill logs current.

The paper. Product data sheets on file, cleaning log per line and per shift, batch traceability — which an ISO 9001:2015 registered local manufacturer can give you same-week, and an importer often cannot.

The timing

Book pre-inspection stock through the Walvis Bay agent two weeks ahead of your window — every plant in the harbour shares the audit calendar and the same idea. A finding answered with a corrective delivery in days, because the factory is in Windhoek and not overseas, is the quiet advantage of local supply.

The Fishing & Marine industry page carries the full factory and vessel picture.