The Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) has announced its reorganisation into a permanent new entity with full legal independence and a participatory, industry-based structure.
According to GDST, the move will significantly strengthen its role as an industry forum for the promotion of digital seafood traceability and as owner of the industry’s global traceability standards.
“The new GDST is open for business,” GDST Executive Director Greg Brown said. “With the strong support of companies and stakeholders worldwide, we are ready to expand our global partnerships to engage the future of seafood traceability.”
GDST was originally convened in 2017 by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Institute of Food Technologists, bringing together more than five dozen companies from around the globe and across the seafood supply chain to draft traceability standards in support of responsible seafood production and trade. The standards were published in March 2020
“The new GDST is critical for bringing the industry together around the standards we need to make universal digital seafood traceability a reality,” said Britta Gallus, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Metro AG and co-chair of the GDST Steering Committee.
Adam Brennan, Group Director for Sustainability at Thai Union and also a Steering Committee member, added, “The re-launched GDST will play a vital role in the future of our industry, helping ensure that all seafood can be traced to trusted sources of supply.”
The reorganised GDST will focus on industry participation while including avenues for multi-stakeholder involvement. It will offer a range of tools and services to support adoption of its standards and promote mechanisms to verify compliance, while updating the standards and examining their possible expansion to address climate change and labor conditions in seafood supply chains.
It will also advise governments on emerging traceability regulations.
