FULL and FORMAL ISO 65 Third Party and Certification Accreditation Credentials for Global Trust's FAO-Based Fishery Certifications (Date:07 February 2012)
Global Trust Certification is proud to announce that after an eighteen month long external and formal ISO assessment process, Global Trust Certification has received formal notification of its full ISO 65 accreditation for the FAO based Certification of Responsible Fisheries Management Program.
This ISO 65 accreditation encompasses the standard, the assessment process and the certification process that has been in operation since 2010. It is typical that the accreditation evaluation process can take up to two years to complete as it requires a review of at every aspect of the program.
This ISO Accreditation notice comes as excellent and timely news for the fisheries in Iceland, Alaska and others who have embraced the FAO- based certification and will be of interest to other interested fisheries and markets who will now more clearly understand the credibility of the FAO based program. The announcement will frustrate some competitive parties who have been making unfounded criticisms about the programme.
The certified communication for the FAO-based program is “Responsible Fisheries Management for Sustainable Use” and it is proving to be an attractive and practical option for fishery authorities who have been frustrated with other programs.
The accreditation for this program is formal ISO Guide 65 accreditation from a National Accreditation Body of the International Accreditation Forum. It clarifies at the highest level that the FAO based program has independence, transparency and credibility.
ISO 65 accreditation has become the required benchmark for food certification programs across the world by both markets and regulatory authorities. It forms the basis of highest reassurance for communications such as Organic, Food Safety Management and all food certification standards approved by the Global Food Safety Initiative and Food Authorities.
This announcement is an accreditation first for Fishery Management Certification as no other fishery certification management program in the world has received or can formally claim these formal and official ISO 65 Accreditation accolades.
Peter Marshall, CEO of Global Trust says, “ this is great news for our clients and great news for Global Trust. It helps defend the FAO-based standard, the assessment process and certification process from false accusation. The FAO based program is called the FAO based program because it is directly derived from the FAO reference documents. We are giving credit where it is due. There has been no need to re-create the globally managed management references that the FAO created in their Code of Conduct and Eco-labelling guidelines.”
Marshall adds “The certified communication for successful fisheries is “Certified Responsible Fisheries Management” which is practical, realistic and objective. The fact that the fisheries will have Certified Responsible Fisheries Management means that sustainability journey for the fishery is reassured, the stock can be fished sustainably when managed correctly.”
Accreditation is when an organization that provides certification, testing and inspection services is assessed by a third party against internationally recognized standards typically ISO. It demonstrates the organizations competence, impartiality and performance capability and is the key to reducing risk and ensuring that consumers, suppliers and purchasers can have confidence in the services provided.
Global Trust is the leading third party Seafood Standards certification body in the world with the widest range of accreditations for third party certification.
Third party certification is an assessment carried out to ensure compliance with an agreed technical specification. Importantly, the assessment is carried out by an independent, third party organization such as Global Trust that is qualified and licensed to issue certification when the assessment is successfully completed. This means that rather than an organization or company claiming to comply with industry standards, they have taken their commitment to quality further and invited in an external third party to verify that their product or service does indeed comply with the industry standards.
Peter Marshall adds, “Accreditation can be official ISO Accreditation or looser Unofficial Accreditation according to private terms. It should be noted that some programs claim Accreditation without actually achieving formal ISO accreditation. These types of programs use the words accreditation loosely in their title or with phrases “in accordance with” or “in-line with” ISO standards without ever having the intention to be externally and formally validated. Global Trust delivers formal accreditation when a system makes it feasible to do so, this includes, BRC Global Standards, GAA Best Aquaculture Practice Standards, Certified Quality Salmon, GlobalGAP and now in February 2012 will include the FAO-based Responsible Fisheries Management program.
“The FAO-based accreditation is formal and Official ISO 65. The program has entered and has achieved formal ISO 65 accreditation determination through by a formal national accreditation board”.
“There are some agenda parties that seem surprised that these FAO documents have been accepted as a standard for accreditation but due to the nature and integrity of the FAO’s development process for the Code of Conduct and of the supporting FAO interpretation guides, the criteria from the FAO reference documents have be accepted as suitable and fit for ISO accredited certification by members and standards experts of the International Accreditation Forum. These parties shouldn’t be surprised as most have used same FAO documents to engineer new standards. They will understand that the FAO document development process was naturally in accordance with the ISEAL guides, involving international stakeholders including governments, environmental groups, research, fisheries, standards bodies and through transparent development and approval process over a period of many years.
Marshall finishes, “the engagement of interested parties and environmental groups does not stop with this accreditation. Applicants and Global Trust have a continuous engagement plan for 2012 and 2013 to meet and understand any and all concerns from interested parties which can assist to help with assessments and certification understandings. News and information will be posted on relevant websites.