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76 companies from 23 countries have relied on Friend of the Sea’s assessment to verify the sustainable origin of their products.
Friend of the Sea Leads Omega-3 International Sustainability Standard
(ITALY, 4/14/2015)
Friend of the Sea - the international certification program for products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture - has become the leading international standard for producers of fish oil, fishmeal, fish feed and Omega-3 supplements.
76 companies from 23 countries have relied on Friend of the Sea’s assessment to verify the sustainable origin of their products. USA, Scandinavia, Central Europe and Australia are the markets with the highest presence of Friend of the Sea labelled products.
Antarctic krill, menhaden and the Peruvian anchovies’ fisheries and fleets are approved according to Friend of the Sea sustainability requirements. These are considered among the best managed fisheries, with available historical catch and biomass data, precautionary management and strict enforcement. Small pelagic fisheries have no impact on the seabed and very little by-catch.
KinOmega sources its raw material only from Friend of the Sea approved origins: tuna trimmings; Peruvian and European anchovy fisheries.
Some of the Friend of the Sea certified Omega-3 products originate from selected seafood processing by-cuts or trimmings, thus optimizing use of marine resources and avoiding production of waste.
Omega Protein’s operations in the Gulf of Mexico producing fish meal and fish oil have been recertified as sustainable by Friend of the Sea in October 2014.
Environmental sustainability is a sensible topic for the Omega-3 industry, faced with some consumers concerns. Friend of the Sea Omega-3 producers verify their suppliers are listed as approved and thus implements sustainable fisheries practices. This way they can provide a third party assurance to consumers worldwide.
Paolo Bray.
“Fisheries for fish oil are among the major fisheries worldwide, even though only part of it is used for Omega-3 production,” explains Mr. Paolo Bray – Director and Founder of Friend of the Sea.
“Responsible producers make sure these fisheries are well managed and reduce their impact on the environment. The same producers are increasingly interested in verifying that their other nutritional products originate from sustainable agricultural practices and are certified according to our newly introduced Friend of the Earth certification,” said Mr Bray.
About Friend of the Sea
Friend of the Sea is an international certification program for products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Over 400 companies in more than 50 countries have relied on Friend of the Sea to assess the sustainability of their seafood products. Audits, based on best and most updated available scientific data, are run by accredited independent certification bodies.
About Friend of the Earth
Friend of the Earth is a non-profit project for the certification of products from sustainable agriculture and farming. Coming from the positive experience of the Friend of the Sea certification for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, Friend of the Earth is rapidly growing as the leading international label for sustainable agriculture production.
Friend of the Earth certification requirements are based on FAO's SAFA guidelines for sustainable agriculture and farming. Certified production sites cannot be developed on critical habitats and producers must have a social and environmental management system in place, be compliant with national environmental laws, conserve existing ecosystems and reduce their impacts to a sustainable level.
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(ITALY, 4/14/2015)
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