Feed Mill Audits To Begin Soon, Salmon Standards Proceeding

Feed mills around the world are preparing to be certified to the Best Aquaculture Practices standards. Feed mill certification completes the BAP program for the entire farmed seafood value chain. Operations that achieve all four components can use the new "four-star" BAP certification mark on retail packaging, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/ with reference to GAP.

Facilities interested in the certification should contact BAP Certification Management (formerly Aquaculture Certification Council, www.aquaculturecertification.org). The ISO-accredited certification body Global Trust is now available to perform BAP site inspections of feed manufacturers coordinated by BAPCM.

A technical committee draft of the BAP standards for salmon farms was sent to the BAP Standards Oversight Committee (SOC) in July. These standards are for marine cage culture of salmonids and differ somewhat from the earlier standards for pond culture of other species.

The draft standards include new metrics, requirements for expanded record keeping and innovative provisions to deal with such issues as social responsibility, biosecurity and health management. Before approving the committee draft, the SOC recommended that it be adjusted to more closely match the format of other BAP standards. A version will be posted for public comment soon.