Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST):
MSB will operate in accordance with the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability in all aspects of MSB development and implementation. GDST maintains that,
“Reliable and affordable seafood traceability has become a “must-have” for any company seeking to remain competitive in today’s global seafood industry. Whether for meeting company social responsibility policies or for addressing core operational issues such as supply chain visibility and risk management, there is a daily need for rapid access to verifiable information about product origins across the sector.”
“New digital technologies make traceability more possible and affordable than ever. But effective and widespread traceability has, until now, faced two major obstacles: (i) Inconsistent demands for information coming from governments, NGOs, and even retailers or other downstream companies themselves are leading to confusion, higher compliance costs, and lower motivation among producers; and (ii) Incompatible digital information management systems, resulting from the large number of uncoordinated traceability solutions and solution vendors, impede information flow while causing rigidity in business relations and raising barriers to on-boarding new suppliers and customers.”
“The GDST Standards are designed to meet operational business needs while helping ensure that products entering the seafood supply chain originate with legal production practices. They enable companies to have visibility into their supply chains while allowing them to maintain data access controls to protect business-sensitive information.”
The Standards are also adapted to facilitate regulatory compliance with import controls such as the US Seafood Import Monitoring Program and the EU IUU Regulation. Importantly, GDST does not impose a “one size fits all” solution. GDST provides design standards that can be flexibly implemented in multiple proprietary (and even competitive) systems, including cutting-edge technologies like blockchain.”
“The GDST Standards offer a watershed opportunity for the seafood industry. As companies face increasing commercial and regulatory demands for traceability, the GDST Standards will not only enable interoperability, but also increase predictability and create a level playing field. The implementation of GDST Standards will help companies meet their commitments to responsible sourcing while ensuring that future investments in their traceability systems are in step with industry trends and technology developments.”
Throughout MSB’s initiation, design and implementation phases, the principles and standards of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) will be integrated and adhered to:
SIMP – Seafood Import Monitoring Program
MSB will interoperate with SIMP, with SIMP’s focus on preventing IUU and fraudulent seafood products from entering the United States. SIMP explains that,
Seafood Import Monitoring Program Facts and Reports | NOAA Fisheries
“The Seafood Import Monitoring Program establishes permitting, data reporting, and record keeping requirements for importing into the United States fish and fish products identified as vulnerable to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and/or seafood fraud. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated, or IUU, fishing and seafood fraud jeopardize the health of fish stocks, distort legal markets, negatively impact consumer confidence, and create unfair competition in global markets for seafood producers who comply with fishery regulations. NOAA is engaged in numerous efforts to engage internationally, enhance enforcement, strengthen partnerships, and establish seafood traceability.”
“The Seafood Import Monitoring Program is a risk-based seafood traceability program. It requires the importer of record to provide and report key chain of custody data—from the point of harvest to the point of entry into U.S. commerce—for imported fish and fish products identified as particularly vulnerable to IUU fishing and/or seafood fraud. More than 1,100 unique species, categorized in 13 species groups, are included in SIMP.”
The SIMP Import Monitoring Program will be linked into MSB.
Throughout MSB’s initiation, design and implementation phases, the principles and standards of the European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will be integrated and adhered to:
CSRD – EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
EUR-Lex – 32022L2464 – EN – EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
Currently under discussion, the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will change and enhance corporate reporting of social and environmental information.
The CSRD stated that,
“This new directive modernizes and strengthens the rules about the social and environmental information that companies have to report. A broader set of large companies, as well as listed SMEs, will now be required to report on sustainability – approximately 50 000 companies in total. The new rules will ensure that investors and other stakeholders have access to the information they need to assess investment risks arising from climate change and other sustainability issues. They will also create a culture of transparency about the impact of companies on people and the environment. Finally, reporting costs will be reduced for companies over the medium to long term by harmonizing the information to be provided.”
Throughout MSB’s initiation, design and implementation phases, the principles and standards of FSMA will be integrated and adhered to. Users of MSB will seamlessly meet their mandatory USDA reporting requirements under FSMA:
FSMA – USDA Food Safety and Modernization Act
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) | FDA
U.S. Final Rule has passed mandating reporting for seafood and other products. The FSMA describes the problem and need for mandatory reporting:
“About 48 million people in the U.S. (1 in 6) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from food borne diseases, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a significant public health burden that is largely preventable. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is transforming the nation’s food safety system by shifting the focus from responding to food borne illness to preventing it.”
“Congress enacted FSMA in response to dramatic changes in the global food system and in our understanding of food borne illness and its consequences, including the realization that preventable food borne illness is both a significant public health problem and a threat to the economic well-being of the food system.”
“FDA has finalized seven major rules to implement FSMA, recognizing that ensuring the safety of the food supply is a shared responsibility among many different points in the global supply chain for both human and animal food. The FSMA rules are designed to make clear specific actions that must be taken at each of these points to prevent contamination.”
Through initial compliance and maintenance of standards to allow interoperability with these existing and pending programs and requirements, MSB positions itself to grow as a seafood industry global leader, incentivizing reporting and responsible behaviors.
In addition to the above compliance, MSB is positioned to potentially link and interoperate with certification programs such as GSA, BAP, MSC, ASC, GlobalGAP, and others.
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Source: https://traceability-dialogue.org/