The independent certification of DKSH’s Vietnamese Black Tiger shrimps has paved the way for a wider presence of the Friend of the Sea ecolabel in Switzerland, being the logo now used by the four main Swiss wholesalers.
The Vietnamese supplier is a cooperative of 366 farms, already organic certified. The entire area was originally mangroves, which were destroyed during the war and reforested in an attempt to preserve the ecosystem and allow farming in the region. Today the area is used under the forest-shrimp program controlled by the Vietnamese forest management organisation. The extensive system does not use drugs or chemicals. No feed is used. Farms are audited periodically according to internal standards and performance, via an Internal Control System (ICS). Social accountability requirements are fulfilled.
“Customers are enthusiastic about Friend of the Sea certification,” explains Thomas Schefer, DKSH’s Area Manager Seafood for Europe, “so we have had our suppliers undergo audit also for our traded pangasius. Audit results are expected soon”.
