Certifying safe and responsible aquaculture around the world
Barcelona, Spain/Cologne, Germany (27 April 2022) – From 26 to 28 April, GLOBALG.A.P. took part in the world’s leading seafood trade fair, hosted in Barcelona for the first time and representing the largest edition of the event to date.
During the expo, GLOBALG.A.P. provided a range of updates on the new and revised aquaculture certification as well as the expansion of the consumer facing GGN label at international level. Conducted in a panel discussion format on 27 April, the GLOBALG.A.P. news update featured GLOBALG.A.P. Managing Director Dr. Kristian Moeller, Chairwoman of the GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Technical Committee Teresa Fernández, GLOBALG.A.P. Advisory Board member and CLAMA GmbH & Co. KG CEO Martin Hofstede, and representatives from retailers across the sector.
IFA revision reflects industry-wide collaboration
The Seafood Expo Global event coincided with the much-anticipated launch of Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) version 6, GLOBALG.A.P.’s updated standard.
GLOBALG.A.P.’s certification solutions for the aquaculture sector support optimal operations throughout the entire production chain for maximum transparency and product integrity. From compound feed, brood stock, and hatchery through to grow out, harvesting, and transportation, producers gain a complete primary production tool under one standard that considers environmental sustainability, animal health and welfare, and workers’ well-being while simultaneously increasing market recognition.
From producers to suppliers and retailers, GLOBALG.A.P. considers the revision and overall upgrade of IFA v6 a collaborative project of all stakeholders and partners concerned with responsible farming practices. The result of this collaboration is a smarter standard that takes a holistic approach through the key topics of food safety, animal welfare, environmental sustainability and biodiversity, workers’ well-being, production processes, and traceability.
IFA v6 for aquaculture builds on previous success, with IFA v5 being the only aquaculture certification standard recognized by GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) at primary production level, and the only aquaculture certification standard recognized by GSSI (Global Sustainability Seafood Initiative) for all species of finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, and seaweed. GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes produced over 2.5 million tons of farmed seafood for the world market in 2021 – a 23% increase since 2019.
Spotlight on sustainable sourcing
Seafood Expo Global marked the first trade fair since the launch of the revised GLOBALG.A.P. Compound Feed Manufacturing (CFM) standard version 3 in December 2021. The GLOBALG.A.P. aquaculture certification system covers the full production chain. Aquaculture farms shall only use feed originating from certified production processes. The new version covers the increased demand for sourcing raw materials responsibly, with a focus on fish meal, fish oil, soy, and palm oil sourcing. Addressing rising consumer concerns regarding animal health and welfare as well as the origins and suitability of raw materials used in compound feed, the CFM v3 standard introduces additional criteria in the areas of environmental protection and the responsible sourcing of feed ingredients. With feed mills producing over 23 million tons of compound feed annually using GLOBALG.A.P. CFM certified production processes, version 3 of the standard represents an important benchmark in feed and food safety throughout the aquaculture supply chain.
New GGN label sees broad international acceptance
Seafood Expo Global also provided an opportunity to highlight the success of the cross-category GGN label since its launch in April 2021 (Aquaculture label launched in 2016). The GGN label confirms that the products were farmed in line with responsible farming practices that cover food safety, environmental protection, animal welfare, social responsibility, and supply chain transparency.
Since the initial roll out, the GGN label has been experiencing increasing acceptance in the sector for its mission to “make responsible farming visible to consumers” and has been adopted across multiple product categories in both Europe and North America. Retailer EROSKI became the first in Spain to join the initiative in 2018 and passed another milestone in March 2022 by becoming the first Spanish retailer to adopt the new label across categories.
Alejandro Martínez Berriochoa, Health and Sustainability Director at EROSKI, noted, “At EROSKI we work to permanently improve the environmental and social sustainability standards of all the processes in the value chain, from the origin of production to store operations.”
The launch event of v6 can be accessed here.
About GLOBALG.A.P.
GLOBALG.A.P. is a brand of smart farm assurance solutions developed by FoodPLUS GmbH in Cologne, Germany, with cooperation from producers, retailers, and other stakeholders from across the food industry. These solutions include a range of standards for safe, socially and environmentally responsible farming practices. The most widely used GLOBALG.A.P. standard is Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA), applicable to fruit and vegetables, aquaculture, floriculture, livestock, and more. This standard also forms the basis for the GGN label: The consumer label for certified, responsible farming and transparency.
The GLOBALG.A.P. brand began its journey as EUREPGAP in 1997. 25 years later, over 200,000 producers have GLOBALG.A.P. certification in 134 countries. Nearly 150 team members around the world are dedicated to the mission of spreading responsible farming practices to ensure safe food for future generations. www.globalgap.org
About the GGN label
The GGN label is a consumer label that stands for certified, responsible farming and transparency.
Found in stores on both packed and loose fruit and vegetables, farmed seafood, flowers, and plants, the label offers shoppers a quick, consistent way to recognize products that align with their values on the topics of animal welfare and social and environmental responsibility.
Accompanying the logo on product packaging is a unique 13-digit identification number that can be entered into the GGN label portal to trace the origins of the product. All GGN labeled products come from farms with production processes that are independently audited and certified to strict criteria from GLOBALG.A.P. standards or a benchmarked equivalent.
The GGN label is owned by FoodPLUS GmbH in Cologne, Germany. To find out more, visit www.ggn.org
Contact:
GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH,
Leonie Fischer
fischer@globalgap.org.