In a bid to eliminate confusion for consumers and the industry over different certification standards, Seafish has launched a new web resource to provide information on standards which apply to fish and shellfish supplied in the UK.
A Guide to Seafood Standards provides detailed information on all the certification schemes currently relevant to seafood, many of which also appear on product labelling and menus. It incorporates an interactive tool which describes how each standards is applied and the criteria used to measure factors such as food safety, environment, animal and social welfare. This tool also allows consumers and the indsutry to compare and contrast the different certification standards.
“Standards are a vitally important way of certifying performance against set criteria, although as yet there is no statutory requirement for equivalence and the schemes vary in the factors they cover,” said Paul Williams, chief executive of Seafish. “We hope that by providing more information this new Guide will increase understanding of this important facet of our industry and so help to ‘demystify’ the schemes for users.”
The launch of the guide follows the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSc) reclassification of mackerel, just five months after it was removed from the safe to eat list. Seafish says it hopes this will help clear up any confusion for consumers and the industry.
For more information visit www.seafish.org/media/sustainability/a-guide-to-seafood-standards
