Certifying producers in the aquaculture sector

GLOBALG.A.P. (Good Agricultural Practice) is the world’s leading farm assurance program. The organization provides certi cations to fruit and vegetable, oriculture, and aquaculture farms that meet its standards for safe agricultural practice. The purpose of the certi cations is to ensure that producers’ practices are safe and responsible while also creating transparency for consumers.

The organization started to provide certi cations to aquaculture producers in 2004, which was a species-speci c standard for salmon at that time, and today o ers certi cations to sh farmers in countries all over the world and for all aquatic species, whether these are n sh, crustaceans, molluscs or algae. For this industry speci cally, GLOBALG.A.P. only provides certi cations to producers whose practices are certi able throughout the entire supply chain. is means that a producer’s sh can only be certi ed if they are fed with sh feed that is also certi ed.

Transparency from feed to final fish product through aquaculture certification

e organization was founded in the late 1990s in response to food security issues, particularly in relation to fruits and vegetables. It originated as a group of food retailers who worked in collaboration to manage the risks associated with the insecurities they were facing at the time. According to Remko Oosterveld, Key Account Manager, the organization has developed a lot since then. GLOBALG.A.P. currently works to regulate all sorts of farming practices, and they manage these farming practices throughout the entire production process to ensure that they are safe and responsible. Mr. Oosterveld stated that in 2004, the organization became involved with the sh industry when it introduced a standard for aquaculture. e standard sets at every stage of the aquaculture production a high threshhold for best animal welfare practices. e terms of the standard were not just implemented for good practice, but also because of the organization’s ethical duty to prevent and combat animal cruelty – that is why animal welfare is deeply embedded in the company DNA. GLOBALG.A.P. aims to provide transparency through the entire production process, from start to nish, and there is growing interest from retailers to provide their customers with this transparency as consumers become, for example, more climate conscious.

Certi cation is useful to producers because it opens new markets and actively helps them comply with supply chain requirements and makes their products more appealing to many customers. To achieve certi cation the GLOBALG.A.P. standards are written in a clear and detailed manner that are used as a tool by producers to be their managers in all aspects by the holistic approach of the standard, explained Mr. Oosterveld. e organization helps their clients to improve these issues as they have connections throughout the supply chain that their clients often do not possess.

Mandatory feed standard is unique

e organization has both an aquaculture standard and a feed standard. e former covers the hatcheries, nurseries, and growout of sh farms while the feed standard covers the production of the feed which fuels the larvae, juveniles, and sh. e organization follows the chain of custody until the nal stages of production in sh farms to ensure that there is no mixing or contamination with any uncerti ed products. e organization’s obligatory feed standard is unique and has been active since 2010. GLOBALG.A.P. currently covers the most important aquatic species in Europe, with a large percentage of the main aquaculture production volume certi ed, according to Mr Oosterveld. GLOBALG.A.P., is a cost-e ective solution for retailers, which chie y explains the company’s dominance of the aquaculture certi cation market. Many Eastern European producers do not have certi cation due to their small size, but several have begun to demonstrate an interest in certi cation. To increase accessibility, the organization also o ers group certi cation which is more cost e ective and might make certi cation for smaller sh farms more feasible. What is complicated about working with smaller producers, though, according to Mr. Oosterveld, is the need for collaboration throughout the chain of production. e organization designed their group certi cation process to promote collaboration throughout the supply chain so that, even while working with smaller producers, from feed production to nurseries, the entire process can obtain certi cation.

An important part of the organization’s work is to communicate with stakeholders and inform consumers about the meaning of the certi cation. To do this, the organization has spent time considering the e ectiveness of the GGN label used to signify certication and o er more transparency for consumers. In 2021, the organization introduced a universal label to be used for all their certi cations that replaced the individual logos for aquaculture, oriculture, and fruit and vegetables. Mr. Oosterveld explained that they did this to promote their recognizability. eir new GGN label is an illustration of a magnifying glass representing transparency as well as a farmer denoting the process of production rather than just the nal product itself being the scope of certi cation. e idea here is that each production step is clear, understandable and also comprehensible for the end consumer, says Mr. Oosterveld. e GGN Label is combined with a numeric code which consumers can type into the organization’s website (ggn. org) to learn more about the product’s production. e new logo will be available to use on products from over 200,000 producers across all areas of certi cation. e consumer recognition that stemmed from the consolidation of the logo has had very positive impacts on GLOBALG.A.P.’s popularity and recognizability throughout Europe, says Mr. Oosterveld.

Certification gives access to certain markets

e costs associated with GLOBALG.A.P. certi cation consist of three elements, the certi cation fee, costs for the implementation, and costs for the certi cation. e GLOBALG.A.P. certi cation fee itself is extremely cost-e ective and is only a fraction of the total costs. e cost for the implementation of certi cation consists of sta responsible for quality assurance, establishing protocols, sta trainings, etc. e nal cost of certi cation is linked to the actual certi cation performed by an independent certication body. Costs associated with this are linked to a daily fee and travel expenses. Mr. Oosterveld explained that the total cost of certi cation is a limitation for certain, often smaller, producers. Although it is hard to know exactly the direct bene ts that the certication has on a producer’s sales and success, experience from certi ed producers indicates that it opens new markets and supports a robust management.

One of GLOBALG.A.P.´s core values is to be innovative, cost e cient, and o er transparent solutions, allowing safe and responsible grown food around the globe. e organization makes its own revenue by way of its certi cation fee, the various trainings that it provides, and the GGN label.

More remote auditing is likely in the future

During the Covid pandemic, as transportation came to a halt, GLOBALG.A.P. developed new rules which enabled them to introduce remote audits. Remote audit allowed the issuing of a new certi cate, but an on-site audit was required within the 6-12 months following the certi cation. Currently, there are only on-site audits and certi cations, but there was much that the organization learned from providing remote audits which would be useful if introducing a remote option for certi cation and auditing in the future. Because auditing is a time-consuming job that requires extensive travel, o ering a remote option may create space for auditors to visit and work with more clients in a shorter period. Increased e ciency will bene t clients as well and should ultimately lead to more sustainability and greater transparency for all the links in the aquaculture value chain.

Nora Goodman, Euro sh, nora@euro sh.dk

GLOBALG.A.P., Cologne, Germany

GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH Spichernstr. 55 50672 Cologne, Germany

Tel.: +49 221 57776 -0

Fax: +49 221 57776 -1999 www.globalgap.org info@globalgap.org

Key Account Manager: Remko Oosterveld

Certification: Provides certifications to producers who adhere to safe, responsible, and transparent production practices

Types: Certifications for fruit and vegetables, floriculture, and aquaculture products

Location: Cologne, Germany

Markets: Certifications in 135 countries

Raisioaqua, Finland’s only fish feed factory, now operates as Alltech Fennoaqua Oy