{"id":1158304,"date":"2023-05-11T10:22:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T08:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asc-aqua.org\/?post_type=news&p=1158304"},"modified":"2024-10-16T10:19:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T08:19:26","slug":"ascs-chain-of-custody-module-becomes-effective-end-of-may-food-safety-requirement-extended-to-2024","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/asc-aqua.org\/news\/ascs-chain-of-custody-module-becomes-effective-end-of-may-food-safety-requirement-extended-to-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"ASC\u2019s Chain of Custody Module becomes effective end of May, food safety requirement extended to 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From 30 May 2023, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council\u2019s new Chain of Custody (CoC) Module<\/a> becomes effective and mandatory. This includes new requirements additional to the existing Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) CoC certification to further strengthen the value and assurance of the ASC label.<\/p>\n

Food safety requirement extended to May 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within the ASC CoC Module, companies that are involved in processing and\/or packing must be certified to a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognised scheme or ISO 22000, unless the organisation is exempt based on size either by value, volume, or number of staff.<\/p>\n

However, ASC is providing a one-year extension to the initial implementation timing (a \u201cgrace period\u201d) for this part of the CoC Module, the food safety eligibility requirement.\u00a0\u00a0This means that at the first audit after the CoC Module becomes effective (30 May 2023), it is acceptable for companies to not yet have food safety certification in place (when applicable) without resulting in suspension of their CoC certificate. Companies must meet the food safety requirement after 30 May 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cASC acknowledges the introduction of the food safety requirement may have a significant impact on companies that have not previously held food safety certification, and that obtaining such certification requires preparation, coordination with operational seasons and products, auditor availability and may require modification of existing systems or investment in new ones. The intent of the grace period is to allow companies to remain CoC certified while they work towards achieving the new food safety certification requirement of the ASC CoC Module,\u201d Wendy Banta, ASC\u2019s Head of Supply Chain Assurance said.<\/p>\n

This is a one-time provision specific to the food safety requirement at the first CoC audit against the ASC CoC Module after the effective date. The remainder of the CoC Module is unaffected by this provision.\u00a0 The food safety requirement grace period will be formalised via release of ASC CoC Module version 1.1 on 15 May 2023, aligned with the release of MSC CoC programme document updates. The latest version of the CoC Module can be found here<\/a> (CoC Module v.1.1 will be uploaded on 15 May).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Increased assurance through CoC Module<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ASC CoC Module is applicable to all ASC CoC certified companies and applicants. The new requirements are part of a suite of improvements and tools to provide greater value and a higher level of assurance to programme participants and consumers who rely on the ASC label. They address seafood fraud, food safety, legality, antibiotic detection, as well as other aspects inherent to farmed seafood production.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s new?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new requirements include the need for CoC certificate holders to report specific data to ASC. Data required to be submitted may include purchase and sales volumes, species, buyers, and suppliers, and may cover consumer-facing and non-consumer facing products.<\/p>\n

All CoC certificate holders must carry out a food fraud vulnerability assessment and intervention plan to assess and identify potential vulnerabilities affecting a food product or ingredient.<\/p>\n

Certificate holders that buy directly from certified farms must verify CoC certification coverage is continuous from farm to first buyer and consider applicable product eligibility factors.<\/p>\n

The module also introduces a transparent list of ineligibility criteria (including illegal or fraudulent activities) to prevent organisations from becoming or remaining certified when the specified criteria apply.<\/p>\n

For a summary of the requirements, check out this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More information<\/strong><\/p>\n

To download the ASC CoC Module document and find more information about ASC Chain of Custody please visit the ASC website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The CoC Module (including translations)\u00a0and\u00a0other\u00a0supporting materials\u00a0can be found\u00a0under this link<\/a>. Links are available to FAQs and a practical\u00a0checklist guide\u00a0for supply chain companies to understand what the ASC CoC Module requires from CoC certified companies and applicants.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1158316,"template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-1158304","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asc-aqua.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/1158304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asc-aqua.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asc-aqua.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asc-aqua.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1158316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asc-aqua.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1158304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asc-aqua.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1158304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}