Although the unit of certification is the plant, assessment of species is a necessary prerequisite in order to provide assurance for the responsible sourcing of raw materials used for the production of marine ingredients. It is important that each company applying for the standard indicates the specific species that each individual plant uses so that this can be listed correctly in the certificate scope.
By-products that come from the exact same fishery (species, stock, etc.) under the MarinTrust approved whole fish assessment are automatically approved.
Transition to Version 3
Beginning May 1st, 2024, new applicants and re-certifications to Version 3 of the MarinTrust Standard will have their by-product species assessed against Version 3 by-product criteria, while currently approved by-products will continue under Version 2 until May 1st, 2025. Find out more here.
MSC recognition
MarinTrust recognises the status of MSC certifications and wants to simplify the process for those certificate holders that receive MSC certified raw materials to the marine ingredient producing plant. These materials will be recognised as MarinTrust compliant.
This process has now been formalised in the MSC Verification Tool which came into force on 1 January 2021. The aim is to protect the integrity of the chain and prevent false use of the MSC claims entering a MarinTrust certified factory. MarinTrust is enhancing its MSC recognition process by providing an extra layer of verification while avoiding duplicating assessments and all at low costs. A verification report is required for MSC certified by-products when the Marine Ingredient producer site does not hold MSC CoC certification.
To read more about MSC recognition find out more here.