2000 MSC Chain of Custody certificate holders
2012 03 23
- Details
Finefish, a Norwegian processor offering a range of fresh and frozen seafood products, became the 2000 MSC (1) Chain of Custody certificate holder when it was assessed by independent certifier Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to have met the MSC seafood traceability standard. Finefish can now sell their Cod, Haddock and Saithe products as MSC certified, and use the blue MSC ecolabel on-pack.
Widespread adoption of MSC seafood traceability standard
The number of MSC Chain of Custody certificate holders has increased rapidly over the last years, evidence of accelerating interest, from supply chain companies, of sourcing from certified fisheries and demonstrating their commitment to sustainability. By August 2009, ten years after the launch of the MSC program, there were 1000 Chain of Custody certificates in force; less than three years years later this number has now doubled.
Camiel Derichs, Deputy Director Europe of MSC comments: “I’m delighted to welcome Finefish as the 2000th MSC Chain of Custody -certified company into the MSC program. Since the Norwegian cod and haddock fisheries were certified late 2011, we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of Chain of Custody certificate holders in Norway. They join a market for certified sustainable seafood which is of growing global significance as well as being important to the Norwegian seafood sector. ”.
Our standard for seafood traceability provides seafood buyers and consumers with assurance that products bearing the blue MSC ecolabel are sourced from a fishery that is MSC certified and sustainable. Essentially it protects buyers and consumers from mislabeling and false claims and ensures that MSC certified fisheries receive the market recognition they deserve. It also means that supply chain companies can demonstrate their commitment – of increasing importance to consumers worldwide – to putting sustainable sourcing at the heart of their business strategies.”
Robust certification
Seafood companies that wish to sell their products as MSC certified, must be MSC Chain of Custody certified. To obtain certification, processors, wholesalers and distributors must pass an independent, third-party audit that is conducted by an independent accredited certification body. Certified companies are subject to annual surveillance audits, unannounced audits, and product trace-backs. Collectively these tools assure that the MSC standard for traceability continues to be met, and that MSC certified and non-MSC certified products are not mixed at any point in the supply chain.
Robust Chain of Custody certification and labeling control are critical to the credibility of any eco-label. Apart from compulsory audits against MSC Chain of Custody standards, annual audits and unannounced audits, MSC’s product integrity program involves product tracebacks and a DNA testing program.
What Finefish says
Jan Erik Myrseth, Sales Director at Finefish says: “We started the process around the MSC-certification in the end of summer 2011 after close discussions with our most important customers. They made it clear that the MSC-approval would be essential in the upcoming Skrei season running from January to the end of April. And indeed it has been. Together with the quality focus we have on our products it has become clear that the MSC-approval has been crucial for the increasing volumes we have exported of the Skrei products this winter. With products we mean: Skrei-Head off/Head on, Skrei- fillets, Skrei-loins and other biproducts from the Skrei. FineFish is a young and dynamic company that is 100% quality focused. Not only on the products we export, but also in the way we do it. Our ambition is easy; Our clients should feel that doing business with FineFish is risk free in all aspects of the trade. The feedback we have registered is that we supply high-end quality products and high-end services. The MSC-certification most certainly is a part of this service and we are glad to present our clients the product sustainability that they require.
FineFish is MSC-Certified for Cod, Haddocks and Saithe in whole fish, fillets and industrial quality. And we produce the whole range of these products.”
Source MSC
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