2 | DECEMBER 4, 2015
COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
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ny person in business will
sympathize with Skipanon
Brand Seafood, which was
caught up in the nightmarish sce-
nario of having to recall thousands
of dollars’ worth of product this
fall.
This Warrenton business
owned by the Kujala family is the
result of generations of work. It
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delicious canned seafood, which it
both markets under its own brand
and wholesales to other retailers
in the region. It has been honored
in the annual CEDR Awards, but
the ultimate accolade comes from
consumers who enjoy Skipanon
products and often buy them to
send as presents — perfect local
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out-of-town family and friends.
It came as a shock to the Ku-
jalas and all of us when a Food and
Drug Administration inspection
A
MATT
WINTERS
PUBLISHER
& EDITOR
kicked off a recall in early October.
Based on a lack of documentation
that all cans had been appropriately
processed, the recall was a precau-
tion to avoid any possibility that
the products might harbor botulism
bacteria. A contaminant more asso-
ciated with home canning, rooting
botulism out of the nation’s food
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institutional missions more than a
century ago.
Back in the era of President
Theodore Roosevelt, impure foods
were a national scandal. Search
through records of the 20th cen-
tury’s early decades and you will
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bia and Willapa Bay companies
mentioned in enforcement actions.
Painful as FDA scrutiny is, its
efforts have largely banished the
most serious problems that used to
crop up. This included everything
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to crop again. Continuing vigilance
is warranted.
When is comes to Skipanon
products, no illnesses were ever
reported. As our story in this issue
describes, issues surrounding doc-
umentation, record-keeping and
employee training have all been
addressed. We can buy Skipanon
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do so — mostly because they are
delicious and safe, but also as a
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ing local family.
COMPANY IS JUST ONE GOOD
EXAMPLE OF WARRENTON’S
UPWARD MOMENTUM.
Mark Kujala is mayor of War-
renton and an embodiment of the
true grit that makes Warrenton so
special. The city and its residents
quietly succeed. Again hearken-
ing back to history, maps from
a century ago show Warrenton’s
aspiration to become a major com-
mercial gateway to the Columbia
River. Although ocean-going ships
still aren’t homeported there, in the
early 21st century the city is amply
successful as a retail and industrial
hub, with one of the most diverse
economies on the Oregon coast.
Gateway to Oregon’s most pop-
ular seashore park, Fort Stevens,
Warrenton is also famous as a
destination-shopping locale, at-
tracting customers from a 50-mile
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covered the latest honors for GB
Jewelers, whose Warrenton store is
an amazing showplace and a prime
illustration of Warrenton’s ability
to achieve its aspirations. There are
many other success stories on ev-
ery major street of this surprising
community — a small blue-collar
city that dreams big.
Join me in enjoying Skipanon
Brand Seafood this holiday season.
Provid in g high-q u a lity,
pa tien t-cen tered prim a ry ca re in
n orthw est O regon a n d sou thea st W a shin gton for a ll
a ges a n d sta ges of life, n ow w ith tw o loca tion s!
W e a ccept m ost insura nces including Colum bia -Pa cific CCO , O regon
H ea lth Pla n, M edica re a nd M edica re supplem enta l pla ns a nd m a ny others.
B u i l d i n g h e a l t h y c o m m u n i t i e s o n e n e i g h b o r a t a t i m e
2158 Exchange St.
Suite 304 • Astoria
401 SW Bel Air Dr.
Clatskanie
503-325-8315
503-728-5088
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