Global business Mars has joined the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) and has partnered with Wholechain, a GDST Verified Capable solution provider, to establish robust, end-to-end traceability across its seafood supply chains.
Mars is the first petfood company in the world to commit to meeting the GDST Standard.
“At Mars, we have been working for more than 15 years, in collaboration with WWF, to drive more responsible fish sourcing, and address the growing pressures on vulnerable ocean ecosystems.” said Andrew Russell, Global Marine Sustainability Lead of Mars Petcare. “By joining the GDST, we are advancing our commitment to responsible sourcing and are proud to work with Wholechain to make meaningful strides in achieving end-to-end traceability across our seafood supply chains.”
To meet the GDST Standard, Mars partnered with Wholechain, a GDST Verified Capable solution provider.
Wholechain offers Mars a scalable solution that works not only in seafood, but across multiple commodities. It is currently supporting Mars in establishing visibility into key points within its seafood supply chain, from origin to finished product.
By leveraging Wholechain’s platform, Mars can enhance product integrity, mitigate risk and help ensure responsible environmental and social sourcing across its operations.
“Mars’ commitment to adopting GDST standards and prioritising traceability is a powerful example of industry leadership,” said Jayson Berryhill, CEO of Wholechain. “We are excited to work with Mars to turn their commitment into action, providing the technological support needed to deliver full visibility across their seafood supply chain.”
Mars’ partnership with GDST and Wholechain also supports the longer-term expansion of the GDST Standard into non-seafood commodity markets. Huw Thomas, Director of GDST confirmed.
“Companies with supply chains including non-seafood commodities - such as palm, soy, beef, chicken - are already exploring utilisation of the GDST Standard in realising their digital interoperable traceability ambitions. The learnings Mars will be taking from implementing the GDST Standard for their seafood products across their non-seafood supply chains is anticipated to help to drive wider adoption of the GDST Standard across multiple markets, delivering industry-wide improvements in traceability and accountability,” Thomas said.
GDST’s primary goal is to establish a common framework for seafood traceability that enables seamless data exchange across the supply chain. Itnow has 95 partners, including major seafood processors, retailers, software companies, NGOs and global brands.
