Four-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) tilapia from China will soon be available to American consumers, with the first shipment just hitting US shores. Imported by The Fishin’ Company of Munhall, Pennsylvania, the product will be delivered to a number of retail outlets across the country.
This is not the first four-star BAP tilapia imported into the United States, as product from Paraiso Springs Aquaculture Guatemala has been on the market since March. Sourced from a farm situated in the El Peten region of Guatemala on the San Pedro River, the fish is raised in semi-intensive grow-out ponds.
Companies may obtain four-star BAP status only if the product offered originates from BAP-certified processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills. It’s the highest designation in BAP, the world’s most comprehensive third-party aquaculture certification program, with standards encompassing environmental responsibility, social responsibility, animal health and welfare, food safety and traceability.
Sponsored by The Fishin’ Company, the BAP certification of the two hatcheries and one feed mill, from which it sources fingerlings and feed, will boost availability of four-star BAP tilapia from China in the US market.
“This is a groundbreaking day for tilapia. We are ecstatic to be able to deliver this totally comprehensive benchmark of food safety, traceability and sustainability to the retail arena, and applaud our supply chain for their partnership in this endeavor,” said Manish Kumar, chief executive officer of The Fishin’ Company.
About BAP
A division of the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), Best Aquaculture Practices is an international certification program based on achievable, science-based and continuously improved performance standards for the entire aquaculture supply chain that assure healthful foods produced through environmentally and socially responsible means. BAP certification is based on independent audits that evaluate compliance with the BAP standards developed by the GAA.
