The International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization (IFFO) this week recognized Tecnológica de Alimentos SA (TASA) of Peru as the first fishmeal and fish oil producer to achieve certification under the new IFFO Global Standard for Responsible Supply.
The certification was awarded to the Callao Norte plant of TASA, the world’s largest fishmeal producer. Earlier this week, Jorge Mora, operations director at IFFO, presented the IFFO-Assured certificate to Mario Brescia, CEO of TASA, at its headquarters in Lima, Peru.
“Since October 2009 when we launched the program we have had applications from 15 manufacturing companies in four major producing countries, sourcing from 10 fisheries,” said 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.”
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 NGOs.
This business-to-business, independently audited program 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 Organization (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
