In 1987, TCI contracted with the United States Department of Commerce (USDC) to conduct weekly inspections of farm-raised catfish processing plants. In 1994, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) regulatory system for the seafood industry to prevent food safety problems before they occur.

This system, which places responsibility for product safety on individual manufacturers and distributors, was nothing new to the farm-raised catfish industry: For over a decade, the industry has been independently executing its own quality control program. Only when the catfish have passed both stringent taste tests at the ponds and the USDC inspections at the processing plants are they awarded the Certified Processors seal, confirming that they have met the highest standards set by TCI.