The International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization (IFFO) announced on Thursday that it has launched its new Improvers’ Program for fishmeal and fish oil producers.
As part of the program, facilities that would not otherwise achieve the full IFFO Global Standard for Responsible Supply (IFFO RS) can progress gradually against a series of auditable milestones on responsible sourcing and food safety.
IFFO’s partner in the program is the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, and the project was developed in consultation with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Initial development of the program was funded by major retailers and fish feed producers, including Sainsbury’s and EWOS.
The framework for the Improvers’ Program was established by IFFO’s independent Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).
“Thirty percent of the world’s fishmeal and oil production capacity is now certified to the RS Standard, and there are more audits in the pipeline,” said IFFO Technical Director Andrew Jackson. “In the Americas and Europe, production is well covered, but there are a lot of factories, particularly in Southeast Asia, which cannot achieve the RS standard, often because of the lack of fisheries management data.
“This new program is designed to encourage responsible sourcing of both wild fish and byproduct raw material, as well as responsible production, food safety and traceability,” he explained.
