ABOUT
Certifications
Not what we say we do,
but what they confirm we do

Certifications: Not just food safety anymore. Certifications now validate supply chain activity across our 3 main areas of focus. 1. Food safety and quality 2. Social Impact and Fair treatment of labor and staffing 3. Appropriate engagement and stewardship of the natural resources (fisheries) which support the livelihoods of the entire industry.

Over the last decade, the seafood industry has evolved in terms of looking to validate its claims (to avoid bad faith in competition). We have been at the head of the pack at NAI, assessing, embracing, critiquing, and when we have found gaps - creating our own - certifications. We are deeply knowledgeable in applicable certifications as they relate to the wild catch space, and often act as consulting experts for our retail partners as they navigate the forest of potential certifications as they craft sustainability messaging and sourcing policies.

Our combined experience informs our perspective that commercial considerations (cost, complexity, and resource access) are not "another" variable to consider, but need to be part of the solution set as they approach adoption and market acceptance. As of this writing, we particularly align our work with the following certifications as best-at-what-they-do. We hope to co-develop best-in-class over time.
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Certifications

GFSI
(Global Food Safety Initiative)

‍The IFS (International Food Safety) global food safety standard has become the gold standard to ensure food safety and incorporates HAACP, ISO and many other critical component standards. In the Asian seafood market we use the implementation methodology identified by the BRC (British Retail Consortium - now actually called BRCGS) food standard. This is primarily pragmatic as they are certified auditors and a body of local language translated work that makes this the local preference. Another food safety standard that complies with all GFSI specifications (largely US) is SQF.
FIPs
(Fisheries Improvement Projects)

The FIP model is industry-led (which we think makes them pragmatic), a foray into linking FIPs with MSC (as a sustainability model) is evolving into a “Managed Fishery” model target for FIP work. We believe this is a smart change and are championing the evolution of what FIP means to both internal (industry) and external (NGO, consumer) stakeholders.
SMETA
(Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit)

SMETA was developed as a proprietary audit by Sedex for developing economy production environments - primarily textiles. The audit focuses on the fair treatment of employees and safe work environments primarily. There is a component that has evolved to look at the social impact of industry on the communities in which we work - that we find particularly relevant to seafood. The adaptation to seafood is clunky, but the alternatives are less of a fit, and importantly the methodology authors are less adaptive to real-world needs. This has been where SMETA excels. It continues to evolve to meet stakeholder requirements and the standards committee explicitly seeks input from the industry to improve the efficiency and efficacy of certification.
SFP
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership

Leader in developing and driving global initiatives and fisheries performance.
Fisheriesprogreress.org


Monitoring platform for FIPs and resource for North America buyers

Other Certifications we have deep experience with: