The Global Seafood Assurances (GSA) Seafood Processing Standards are now available for public comment, the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) announced on May 2. The 60-day public comment period ends on July 1.
The GSA Seafood Processing Standards are the first and only seafood-specific processing plants standards for both farmed and wild seafood. Based on the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Seafood Processing Standards, the GSA Seafood Processing Standards are comprehensive in that they encompass all four pillars of responsibility — environmental responsibility, social responsibility, animal health and welfare, and food safety.
News of the GSA Seafood Processing Standards surfaced during the recently held Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, when GAA announced the establishment of GSA, an independent not-for-profit organization designed to meet marketplace and public expectations for assurances across aquaculture and fisheries. Expanding the BAP Seafood Processing Plant Standards to include wild seafood is just one of the ways that GSA is trying to address gaps in fisheries certification.
“All stakeholders are encouraged to participate in this public comment exercise so that the final standards can benefit from the most broad-based input possible,” said BAP Standards Coordinator Dan Lee.
All comments received during the public comment period will be carefully considered for inclusion in the final draft. All properly submitted comments are acknowledged. The draft of the GSA Seafood Processing Standards are available at www.bapcertification.org. Comments may be made by downloading the SPS 5.0 Public Comment Form document.
