Fjord Scotland gains EurepGAP accreditation – Fishupdate.com

Fjord Scotland gains EurepGAP accreditation Published:  07 November, 2006

FJORD Seafood Scotland, now part of the PanFish Group, has announced that it is the first Scottish salmon farming and processing company to achieve a prestigious new international accreditation standard.

The EurepGAP Integrated Aquaculture Assurance standard is based on a well-established farm assurance standard for agriculture. The standard for salmon focuses on the same areas – food safety, occupational health and safety, environmental protection and animal welfare.

The standard covers the value chain for salmon with smolt production in freshwater, on-growing in seawater, harvesting and transport.

EurepGAP started in 1997 as an initiative of retailers belonging to the Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group (EUREP). It has evolved into an equal partnership of food producers and their retail customers. Its mission is to develop widely accepted standards and procedures for the global certification of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). The development of standards – both for agriculture and for aquaculture – has been the result of worldwide consultation between farmers, processors and retailers, plus stakeholders outside the industry, including consumer and environmental organisations and governments.

Fjord Seafood Scotland received confirmation that it had achieved EurepGAP accreditation last month – in the same week that it was accredited as compliant with the Scottish Finfish Farming Code of Good Practice, and also with the rules for PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status. Fjord’s processing plant in Stornoway will also be audited by the BRC (British Retail Consortium) next week.

Fjord Seafood’s MD, Alan Anderson, said he is delighted with this recognition of the company’s high standards and good practice, adding that it is especially a credit to all of the company’s employees, who put a huge effort into gaining these awards.

“The benefits of universally-recognised accreditation schemes such as EurepGAP are enhanced food safety, reduced compliance costs and increased integrity of farm assurance schemes. This is good news for the fish farmer, since it reduces the potential for proliferation of paperwork. It also means that we’re demonstrating our commitment to a scheme which stands for continuous improvement and transparency across the entire food chain. Since EurepGAP is an international standard, it also goes a long way towards ensuring a level playing-field for food producers,” said Mr Anderson.

“The standard focuses on all the areas which are important to us as a company: food safety, animal welfare and environmental stewardship.

He added that Fjord is delighted to be able to demonstrate that adopting the highest standards is fully compatible with good economic performance.

“Fjord Seafood Scotland’s recent results have been the best ever, and compare very favourably to those of other salmon farmers in Scotland and elsewhere,” he said.

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