International Aquafeed Directory 2023-24

15
AQUACULTURE ASC AQUACULTURE
Digital traceability of shrimp through ASC’s Key Data Element project
Feed industry operations contribute to
the economic backbone of the local
communities in which they are located.
Therefore, another core requirement
for feed mills is adhering to social
responsibility. This includes fair
treatment and wage of employees,
respect of indigenous and tribal people’s
rights, and ensuring that no child or
forced labour exists. The ASC
Feed Standard includes many other
social and effective management system
requirements, including policies,
procedures and processes for topics such
as the prevention of corruption, bribery,
or falsification of documents.
ASC certified feed mills are also
required to conduct Due Diligence on
their supply chains to assess and
mitigate these key social risks.
From January this year, feed mills have
been able to apply for certification to
ASC’s Feed Standard which covers legal,
social, and environmental requirements
for both the feed mill’s own operations
and for the suppliers of ingredients used
in their feed production. ASC certified
farms have until January 14th, 2025 to
switch to ASC compliant feed to continue
meeting the ASC Farm Standards.
By requiring responsible sourcing for
all major feed ingredients, ASC aims to
address issues in both the supply chain
and at raw material level. Requirements
on reporting of performance will also
improve assurances by creating
unrivalled transparency throughout the
entire aquafeed supply chain, as well as
rewarding environmental sustainability
and assisting future research into
responsible feed.
Ensuring the feed used by the
aquaculture sector is sourced
responsibly through the holistic
approach set out in the ASC Feed
Standard is essential to achieving
sustainable aquaculture. Given the
increasing importance of farmed seafood
within global food systems, this has
become ever more crucial as the
population of the world increases.
To farm seafood responsibly demands
that the ‘upstream’ impacts associated
with the production of feed ingredients
be monitored and reduced, with an
imperative focus on social responsibility
and environmental improvement. This is
exactly the role that the new ASC Feed
Standard will play by incentivising these
improvements.
Certified feed mills must source environmentally
responsible marine and
terrestrial ingredients. The ASC Feed
Standard uses an improvement model
for marine ingredients which requires
feed mills to source increasingly from
responsibly managed fisheries over time.
MarinTrust and Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC), both full members of
the ISEAL Alliance, play a crucial role in
this mechanism and form the key
steppingstones for improvement.
The model offers a unique opportunity
for feed mills to work together with their
fish meal and fish oil suppliers to meet
the increasing requirements over time.
Ultimately, the majority of volume of
marine ingredients needs to be derived
from MSC fisheries.
For terrestrial plant ingredients such
as soy or wheat, feed mills are required
to record and report all ingredients that
make up over 1% of feed and will need
to take steps to ensure they have been
responsibly sourced. Similarly, feed
mills must also work and commit
towards ensuring their supply chains
become free from risks of deforestation
or land conversion.
Moreover, ASC certified feed mills will
have to record and report their energy
use and greenhouse gas emissions and
work to improve energy efficiency, use of
renewables, and water usage.
Key Data Elements project
facilities digital traceability
for shrimp
Digital supply chain traceability of ASC
certified shrimp products has become a
reality, thanks to ASC’s Key Data
Elements (KDE) project. By harnessing
the power of technology to improve
visibility of each product’s route to
market, retailers will have a higher level
of programme assurance through
increased farm origin and supply chain
data transparency.
The groundbreaking project has
developed software to digitally capture
and convey key data from ASC certified
farms and feed sources, through
processing, packaging, and transport to
retailers. As product is moved, the data
is transferred digitally along the supply
chain, from one company to the next,
using a unique code.
To achieve this goal, ASC has worked
closely with supply chain company
partners, stakeholders, and large-scale
seafood traceability initiatives such as
the Global Dialogue on Seafood
Traceability (GDST), to ensure that the
project is aligned and has shared
objectives and outcomes.
The KDE Project is a huge part of
ASC’s continuous efforts to increase
integrity and assurance for ASC certified
and labelled shrimp products as they
move through the supply chain. The
data transmitted digitally ensures not
only transparency and traceability across
the supply chain but the ability to also
INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED DIRECTORY 2023/24