TOPS Oysters Consulting Ltd

63 Todds Bush Rd, RD1
Nelson 7071, New Zealand

TOPS Oysters™ - Traceable Oysters Production System

The TOPS Oysters™ system is the first growing system in the world that provides true traceability of each oyster from spat size all the way to the consumer. You may wonder how? The answer is both simple and smart: each oyster is grown on an individual tag, which acts as a label from the moment the oyster is harvested. The label on which the oyster is grown becomes an integral part of the shell and so gives you a true or a higher degree of traceability than any sticker label glued on the product at the point of harvesting could ever provide.

Benefits of the TOPS Oysters™ production & marketing system

  • Individually labelled oysters
  • Top oyster quality through controlled inter-oyster spacing
  • Traceability from seeding (spat gluing) to market/ consumer
  • Faking of product provenance (counterfeiting) made nearly impossible
  • Highest customer assurances for supply chain safety
  • No product handling from seeding (spat) to harvest
  • Reduced oyster growing time due to balanced growth between meat and shell
  • TOPS Oysters™ system based self-orientation of oysters for optimum spacing
  • Mechanization of seeding process
  • Opportunity to address discerning market segments where pricing premiums can be extracted for food provenance and traceability assurance
  • Unique product differentiation for branding
  • Customers choose their own tag printing for marketing
  • Ideal for web-based marketing
  • World-wide patent protection

Traceability for food safety & marketing differentiation

Traceability of shellfish and more so with high quality raw consumed shellfish like oysters, has several advantages. Individually labelled TOPS Oysters™ allow growers to provide their seller and end consumer with the highest degree of assurance that their product is authentic and safe to eat. Guarantees of provenance and food safety are critical for top end producers with the highest market reputation. However, TOPS Oysters™ with its unique feature of individually labelled oysters goes beyond that. The same label that differentiates TOPS Oysters™ from any other product goes miles further: This labeling feature can be used to present the oyster in the market place like no other. 

fresh-oysters-tops.jpg
Subtidal grown TOPS oceanic oysters, tagged

Production system for oyster quality

The label itself is the key element of the growing system. TOPS Oysters™ are not grown enclosed in mesh bags or trays, but freely suspended in the water column at optimum spacing for ideal water exchange and food supply to each individual oyster. An oyster grown without the stress of crowding is different. It does not feel the urge to grow excessive shell, but will achieve a balanced growth between shell and meat.  A TOPS Oyster is a meaty oyster framed by the elegance of shiny nacre shell. It is a tasty product to be proud of.