Certifications
To help the consumer determine which seafood products are safe, sustainable, and healthy, numerous organizations have created a variety of certifications. But, what does a certification mean? How is it done and what does it measure?
Certification audits are important because it is a comprehensive inspection of all phases of the aquaculture business. This includes food safety and sanitation conditions and measures throughout the entire process; environmental accountability including effluent testing, other sources of pollution and mitigation strategies; social welfare including working and living conditions for employees; animal welfare including fish stocking densities and feeding regimens; traceability procedures in place to provide information on its freshness and shelf life, when and where the fish was harvested, processed, transported and delivered for sale; and finally, document control and record keeping of the business. Since there are several players, this variety can also create confusion. So, which certification is the one you should be looking for? Check out the most common ones below to learn what they mean:
The Global G.A.P. certification is a worldwide standard for good agriculture practice. Their global organization has a crucial objective: safe, sustainable agriculture worldwide. This program is a voluntary set of standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe for producers, suppliers, and buyers. Global G.A.P.'s purpose is to ensure "every generation has a right to safe food, and (we) support farmers to connect them to markets where they can sell their safely and sustainably produced agricultural products by developing and implementing farm assurance systems that are based on facts and recognized across the supply chain." Global G.A.P. certified farms can be found here.
As part of Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), BAP ensures aquaculture is done responsibly through its third-party certification program. BAP is the only seafood-specific certification program that is capable of certifying every step in the production chain. The process starts with hatcheries and ends in a processing plant where it is prepared for delivery to you. Using a rating system, companies who are certified are given between one and four stars dependent on how much of their production chain meets the high certification standards. BAP certified producers and seller can be found here.
The ASC works with scientists, conservation groups, NGOs, aquaculture producers, seafood processors, retail and food service companies and consumers to recognize and reward responsible aquaculture. Their standards for responsible aquaculture address the key environmental impacts of farming, set requirements for workers’ rights and protect communities surrounding certified farms. ASC certified products can be found here.
If farm raised seafood isn't for you, do your part and look for the Marine Stewardship Council certification sticker on your seafood. Each MSC certified fishery has been independently assessed on its sustainability of fish stocks, minimizing environmental impacts, and effectiveness of fisheries management. Regular DNA testing ensures MSC labeled products are correctly labeled. The MSC is the only wild-capture fisheries certification and ecolabelling program that meets best practice requirements set by both the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) and ISEAL, the global membership association for sustainability standards.
