Raising seafood in a sustainable and hygienic manner is increasingly imperative to buyers worldwide. To meet buyers' requirements, farmers are obtaining certification by subjecting their operations to independent, third-party audits.
But with upward of 17 sets of aquaculture certification standards worldwide, are audits becoming too numerous and costly for farmers?
That's the focus of a conference at next week's European Seafood Exposition. Are Certification Costs Too High For Aquaculture Producers? takes place from 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, 30 April in hall 7, auditorium 500 of the Brussels Exhibition Grounds.
Conference speakers will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of certification standards and ways the aquaculture industry can collaborate to simplify, accelerate and harmonize the auditing process.
Speakers include James Heerin, president of the Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC); Dr. Kristian Moeller, managing director of GlobalGAP; and Jan Kranghand, head of quality assurance infrastructure for MGB Metro Group Buying International GmbH.
The ACC is a U.S.-based non-governmental body that certifies seafood hatcheries, farms and processing facilities worldwide using the Global Aquaculture Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices, a set of environmental, social and food-safety standards. Shrimp, tilapia and channel catfish are among the species the ACC certifies.
GlobalGAP, or the Global Partnership for Good Agricultural Practice, is a German-based non-governmental body that establishes certification standards for agricultural products around the globe. GlobalGAP introduced shrimp certification standards at last year's European Seafood Exposition, and at this year's event the organization will launch tilapia and pangasius certification standards.
German-based Metro Group is the world's fifth largest retailer and operates the Metro Cash & Carry chain across Europe and Asia.
To register for the conference or for the Sustainability of the European Seafood Industry conference, click here.
April 21, 2009
