The Wholesale Caviar Trade

At Browne Trading, caviar arrives from farms not by the spoonful, but in original tins holding 1.8 kg. Before accepting a lot, buyers need agreement on what the caviar is, evidence linking it to its documented origin, and records showing that it has met the specified handling conditions.

The wholesale caviar trade connects farms, processors, importers and distributors with retailers, restaurants, repackers and airline caterers. Precise specifications, traceable lots and controlled temperatures underpin the purchase.

Specify the lot before discussing the grade

A written specification comes before a grand name. Record the scientific species name or, for a hybrid, both parents identified as male parent and female parent. Add the country where the roe originated, the processor and the lot identifier. A distributor's address tells you where the distributor is, not where the roe came from.

Request harvest, processing and any repacking dates separately. Record the remaining shelf life and the storage conditions attached to it. Agree a measurable salt content, preferably grams of sodium chloride per 100 g of finished product, rather than relying on a descriptive salting term.

Define bead diameter in millimetres, the acceptable spread of sizes, colour, texture and the supplier's grading criteria. Royal and Imperial are trade descriptions, not legal grades or guarantees of species; see how caviar is graded. Finish the specification with ingredients, additives, pasteurisation status, container format and net weight. These details define the product being accepted.

What a mother tin tells you

A mother tin is a trade term for a larger original container used before portioning or repacking. It describes packaging, not a regulated quality grade. Calendar Cheese reports importing mother tins weighing 1 to 1.8 kg. These operators' formats are examples, not universal sizes.

Whether a container is original or repacked matters because its contents must remain traceable through that change. Agree how opened bulk stock will be handled and how every smaller container will retain its link to the original lot.

Sample the shipment, not the showpiece

A specially selected tasting sample should not silently become the acceptance standard for an entire shipment. Agree the sampling plan before dispatch: which containers will be selected, who will open them, who will record the findings and whether material will be retained for a dispute. Codex treats the primary container, the receptacle directly touching the caviar, as the sample unit.

Container condition, seals and labels come first, before opening. Then assess odour, flavour, bead integrity, texture and visible defects against the agreed specification. Browne Trading describes checking colour, size, flavour and firmness on receipt. Pleasant sensory findings do not establish microbiological safety.

Each laboratory test needs a clear purpose. Salt analysis checks composition. Microbiological testing checks named organisms against the applicable criteria and sampling plan. DNA testing addresses species identity. Require a report that identifies the lot, sample, method and result, rather than a bare statement that the caviar passed.

For hybrids, establish what the assay can resolve and whether it can identify both parents. A maternal lineage result alone does not identify both parents. Quality control and lab testing covers test selection and the limits of a certificate of analysis for safety and provenance claims.

Keep trade records and border documents distinct

Alongside the sampling evidence, every purchase needs a lot specification and delivery record connecting the goods to the supplier, quantities and identifiers. Obtain relevant analytical reports and the producer's handling instructions as commercial evidence. In the EU, Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, Article 18, requires food businesses to identify their immediate suppliers and business customers. Check domestic record duties elsewhere under the applicable law. A domestic wholesale transfer does not automatically require a fresh CITES permit or export health certificate.

CITES Resolution Conf. 12.7 (Rev. CoP17), Annex 1, sets out the universal caviar labelling system for domestic and international trade, implemented through national or regional law. Its labels carry traceability information; they do not independently verify the contents.

For each route below, check wildlife documents separately from food entry requirements.

Use these document categories as a starting point for checking the actual route, species and establishment. Australia also needs a DCCEEW CITES import permit; Russia needs a separate check. Importing, exporting and re-exporting caviar explains the border procedures.

Put the cold chain in writing

The journey also needs a written specification: the supplier's validated storage and transport conditions, including permitted duration. Put the same conditions into the carrier's instructions. Calendar Cheese, for example, reports holding its mother tins at minus 4 °C (24.8 °F). Use the validated conditions for the particular product, rather than adopting another operator's setting.

Specify how temperatures will be monitored, where measurements will be taken and how excursions will be assessed. At receipt, preserve the transport record and record the consignment's condition before releasing it into stock. An arrival reading captures one moment, not the whole journey. Storage and transport limits are also distinct from serving temperatures.

A distributor's address tells you where the distributor is, not where the roe came from.

Build a hold procedure for missing records, damaged containers or temperatures outside the agreed limits. Keep affected stock identified and separate while the responsible food safety person assesses it. Do not taste your way out of uncertainty. Record the decision, with the evidence supporting release, return or disposal.

Agree acceptance before dispatch

Acceptance begins before the lot leaves the supplier. The agreement should incorporate the specification, sampling method, required documents, delivery conditions and acceptance procedure. State who can reject or hold stock, the notification window, how disputed findings will be reviewed and which laboratory or independent assessor will be used. These drafting points should be tailored to the agreement; they are not universal statutory terms.

Incoterms 2020 remains the ICC's current edition. When incorporating it, name the chosen rule, precise place and edition. Then write the caviar's cold-chain and acceptance requirements separately. Allocating delivery responsibilities and the transfer of risk does not, by itself, define the product specification or decide whether a lot meets it.

The agreement should also cover cooperation on traceability and incidents: access to lot records, prompt notification of a safety problem and identification of downstream business recipients. In the UK, official food business guidance requires supplier and business customer records and action on unsafe food. Accepting a delivery commercially does not remove the food business's safety responsibilities.

Buying bulk does not authorise repacking

Transfer caviar into new primary containers and the business becomes a repacker, not simply a reseller of sealed goods. Supplier consent and private-label rights do not replace the required facility authorisations, hygiene controls or new labels.

Maintain a link between the incoming lot and every outgoing pack, with the quantities accounted for. The CITES labelling system distinguishes origin information from repacking information.

In the EU, Regulation 865/2006 requires licensed processing and repackaging plants to keep quantity records. In the UK, check food establishment approval with the competent authority before undertaking activities that require it. Registration alone is not always sufficient. In the US, processors' Seafood HACCP duties are distinct from importers' verification duties. For exports from Japan, check METI's requirements for caviar packaging facilities.

Check the repacking and labelling rules in the jurisdiction concerned. For the separate responsibilities of the brand owner and filling plant, see private label caviar.

For the wider business context, the caviar industry hub connects this buying workflow with the roles of producers, processors and distributors.