MarinTrust, a business-to-business certification program for marine ingredients value chains, has become a full member of the ISEAL Alliance, the organizations announced on 6 May.
Created in 2009, MarinTrust joined ISEAL as an associate member in 2018. As a full ISEAL member, MarinTrust – formerly referred to as IFFO RS, the global marine ingredient standard for responsible supply – will be required to demonstrate and maintain full compliance to ISEAL Codes of Good Practice, which upholds responsible fishmeal and fish oil sourcing and manufacturing.
“I would like to congratulate MarinTrust on achieving full ISEAL membership status,” ISEAL Alliance Executive Director Karin Kreider said in a press release. “This accomplishment is testament to their dedication to transforming the production of marine ingredients. To achieve full ISEAL membership clearly illustrates their commitment to credible practices and ensuring continuous improvement.”
MarinTrust Executive Chair Libby Woodhatch said MarinTrust, which certifies over half of all marine ingredients produced worldwide, will continue to strive on behalf of sustainability.
“MarinTrust joined ISEAL as an associate member in 2018 by undergoing an evaluation against the baseline criteria of ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice,” Woodhatch said. “It has been systematically tracking progress and driving improvement in terms of monitoring, evaluation, and learning, as well as risk-management and data-management systems. To date, over 50 percent of all marine ingredients produced globally are certified under the MarinTrust program and our ambition is to raise the bar higher. MarinTrust’s membership of ISEAL is a further endorsement as ISEAL is home to the world’s leading sustainability standards. I’d like to thank everyone who helped us achieve this recognition, especially the MarinTrust team who has been doing an amazing job.”
Three key elements are covered in the MarinTrust program. Fishmeal and fish oil factories are the units of certification for which MarinTrust assesses responsible sourcing and production of fishmeal and fish oil. Additionally, the program “goes beyond the plant to assess both sourcing and traceability of compliant fishmeal and fish oil plants throughout the supply chain,” via the MarineTrust Chain of Custody, it said. Lastly, “the MarinTrust Improver program provides a mechanism by which fisheries that do not currently meet the MarinTrust requirements can work towards approval for certification,” MarinTrust said.
