First fishmeal and fish oil producer to achieve certification under new IFFO Global Standard for Responsible Supply

Tecnológica de Alimentos S.A. (TASA) of Peru is the first fishmeal and fish oil producer to achieve certification under the new IFFO Global Standard for Responsible Supply. The certification has been awarded to the Callao Norte plant of TASA, the worlds largest fishmeal producer, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to IFFO.

Earlier this week Jorge Mora, Operations Director of IFFO, presented the IFFO-Assured certificate to Mario Brescia, CEO of TASA, at its headquarters in Lima, Peru.

IFFO has been developing its RS Standard since early 2008 with the help of a Technical Advisory Committee, comprising representatives from the whole aquaculture value chain, including fish farmers, feed producers and retailers, and also NGOs. This business-to-business, independently-audited programme will enable IFFO members to demonstrate to their customers that they are offering pure marine ingredients manufactured from responsibly sourced and traceable raw materials. Whole fish used must come from fisheries managed under the key elements of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

"Since October 2009 when we launched the programme we have had applications from 15 manufacturing companies in four major producing countries, sourcing from 10 fisheries," says IFFO Director General, Jonathan Shepherd. "We anticipate that there will be substantial supplies of IFFO-Assured fishmeal and fish oil on the market within months and that up to one third of global production could be certified by the end of 2010".

"With this programme IFFO has put in place the first link in a fully certified supply chain for aquaculture, and for land animals, such as pigs and poultry. It will help the industry demonstrate its commitment to responsible manufacture of fishmeal and fish oil as well as to the FAO Code of Conduct," said Dr Shepherd.

Applicant factories which can demonstrate that they are "operating a well managed system that ensures their marine raw materials are responsibly sourced and processed to the IFFO Standard" will be awarded certification. They will be able to offer IFFO-Assured fishmeal and fish oil and have the right to display the RS logo. An up-to-date list of currently certified fishmeal plants will be posted on the IFFO web site alongside the full Standard.

Characteristics of the IFFO Global Standard for Responsible Supply (RS)
Standards set by a multi-stakeholder Technical Advisory Committee including producers, traders, fish farmers, feed manufacturers, processors, retailers, standard setting organisations and environmental NGOs. The Assessment Management and Certification Process are contracted to Global Trust.
A programme independently administered by an ISO 65:1996 accredited certification body which is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IFA).
It demonstrates responsible sourcing of traceable raw material and responsible production to ensure feed safety.
A business-to-business tool designed to enable fishmeal and fish oil producers to demonstrate the integrity of their products and their processes to their customers in the value-chain, rather than a consumer eco-label.
Whole fish used must come from fisheries that have been independently assessed and meet the key elements of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
Exclusion of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fish
The factory must have attained Certification to the International Feed Ingredients Standard (IFIS) of the International Feed Safety Alliance (IFSA) or equivalent, as proof of responsible manufacturing; and the applicant must be in possession of all relevant permits and licenses for the production and sale of fishmeal and fish oil products.
This programme is compatible with ISO 65:1996 (General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems) and with EN45011.
Recognises other certification programmes which have demonstrated equivalency and which are accepted within the industry - e.g. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for the fishery certification element only.

The IFFO programme will continue to be developed in 2010 addressing further aspects of responsible supply.