The Seafood Industry Acts to Demonstrate Improved Sustainability

Along with food safety and quality, the measurement of its sustainability is a driving force toward better management of natural resources, the health and safety of industry workers, and operating efficiency of business.
 
FAIRFIELD, N.J. - Sept. 9, 2015 - PRLog -- A sustainable seafood business is one that is financially viable, measures and protects all aspects of its global supply chain and is respectful to both employee and community rights.

Sustainability Benchmarking in Aquaculture Sourcing

Three food and seafood specific standard-setting organizations are working together to increase efficiency and reduce duplication in the auditing process. In April at the Global Seafood Expo in Brussels, the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and GlobalG.A.P. took the significant step of agreeing to combine checklists for farms seeking to achieve certification against more than one standard.

A combined checklist minimizes the duplication of audit points between certification programs and comprises all audit points of one standard supplemented by specific add-on clauses for other standard(s). A farm pursuing multiple certifications can select any one of the three programs as the primary standard and then select the desired add-ons.

Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative Brings Clarity in Seafood Sustainability

As discussed, the range of certification programs can be confusing, and choosing the most appropriate solution for a business is not always straightforward. To address this issue, the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), an alliance between partners from different sectors including retailers, seafood processors, foodservice and NGOs, is developing a benchmarking tool to provide transparency between labeling and seafood certification programs. This tool may be useful for seafood businesses, as it will enable comparison between different certification programs, to help make sourcing decisions. To keep stakeholders up to date with progress the GSSI has launched a new website (http://www.ourgssi.org/).

In combination with GAA, ASC and GlobalG.A.P. checklist streamlining, there is significant potential for the seafood supply chain to become more efficient in its audit and certification programs, at the same time as creating a more sustainable business model, through better decision-making and eradicating duplication of effort. Another major promoter of seafood sustainability certification, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which sets standards for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability, has welcomed the GSSI initiative (www.msc.org/newsroom/news/statement-on-global-sustainable-seafood-initiative).

Road to Social Accountability and Sustainability in the Seafood Industry

For many seafood brands, the “Road to Social Accountability” often began from a demand for compliance to one or more global customer’s Code of Conduct which focused on these topics. That initial demand has now accelerated from the seafood processor back to the feed mill and includes not only direct employees but also temporary labor and contractors.  Whilst many schemes are in place and are actively monitoring conditions in factories and processors, the complexity of monitoring fishing fleets remains the industry’s “elephant in the room”. Companies looking to have assurance about the social sustainability standards in their supply chain must therefore carefully apply those principles to a more dynamic environment with variations in jurisdiction, local law, vessel safety, labor contracts, worker health and safety, availability of ship board records and time at sea.  In doing this they also need to take account of auditor safety, especially if they are sending individuals to monitor conditions on board.

In the past year alone, there has been greater attention and action from the global governing bodies and the media. The US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, the European Commission, and numerous media stories have highlighted the exploitative employment practices and illegal fishing activities within the industry.

About SGS Food Safety Services

The benefits of sustainability are two-fold. Not only does it allow the seafood supply chain to provide information demonstrating its credentials to customers, but it also gives individual businesses a framework for ensuring that product sustainability and responsible sourcing (//www.sgs.com/en/Consumer-Goods-Retail/Food/Primary-Production/Product-Sustainability-and-Procurement.aspx), welfare at work, and other indicators are implemented and maintained within their own organization.

For further information, please contact an SGS representative.

Website: http://www.sgs.com/foodsafety
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/sgs-agriculture-&-food

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 80,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,650 offices and laboratories around the world.

Contact
Jennifer Buckley
cts.media@sgs.com
+1 973 461 1498
End
Source: » Follow
Email:***@sgs.com
Tags:Sgs, Seafood Industry, Seafood Sustainability
Industry:Food
Location:Fairfield - New Jersey - United States
Account Email Address Verified     Account Phone Number Verified     Disclaimer     Report Abuse
SGS Consumer Testing Services PRs
Trending News
Most Viewed
Top Daily News



Like PRLog?
9K2K1K
Click to Share