The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is consulting the public on important documents that will accompany the recently published ASC Feed Standard. This standard will provide assurances to consumers that the feed used on ASC certified farms is responsibly sourced – whether it includes marine or land-based ingredients. Two important supporting documents have now been published, which will provide a framework for feed mills and Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), the independent bodies that carry out audits.
The consultation will run for sixty days. They are open to all members of the public by visiting the ASC website, reading the summaries and completing short online surveys. Find more information and access the consultation on the Feed CAR/RUoC page.
New Feed Standard documents
Two new draft documents have been published to accompany the Feed Standard: the Certification and Accreditation Requirements (CAR) and the Requirements for Unit of Certification (RUoC). While the standard itself sets out the exact indicators that must be met for a mill to produce responsibly sourced feed, the CAR details the requirements a certification body needs to follow in order to conduct audits and certify against the ASC feed standard. The RUoC is aimed at the organizations seeking certification, which, in the case of the Feed Standard, will be feed mills. It details the requirements the feed mill will need to take in order to enter and undergo the audit and certification process for the ASC feed standard.
New elements for the Feed Standard include requirements for due diligence on ingredient suppliers, and two models for accounting for ingredients, known as mass balance and segregation. The CAR and RUoC will provide requirements for the implementation of all of these new additions to ensure the Standard can be applied fairly, consistently and effectively.
Responses to consultations will be used to refine the draft documents. The CAR and RUoC will be finalized for approval from ASC’s governance bodies with the aim to release them early in 2022. The documents will go live towards the end of 2022, giving stakeholders time to familiarize themselves with the requirements and train staff.
