lobal Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) seafood processing plant standards have been successfully benchmarked against the latest Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety requirements.The BAP standards now align with GFSI Guidance Document Sixth Edition. The BAP standards were originally benchmarked against GFSI Guidance Document Fifth Edition in June 2010.
The updated standards represent and upgrade from the previous edition in that the requirements for program management were strengthened and the documents was expanded to cover primary production, processing and supporting activities more robustly.
“Being successfully re-benchmarked by GFSI is a testament that BAP-certified facilities meet the highest standards for food safety. BAP-certified facilities will be able to continue to meet the demands of seafood retailers and distributors requiring GFSI,” said Wally Stevens, GAA executive director. “This rigorous process addresses not only food safety and the content of the standards, but also scheme governance.”
“One of the key components of the GFSI board’s strategy is building confidence in third party certification. We are committed to providing trust in the systems that are responsible for ensuring safe food for consumers everywhere,” said Frank Yiannas, VP of food safety for Walmart and vice-chair of the GFSI board. “By recognizing food-safety management schemes that meet fundamental requirements set by a global group of stakeholders, the GFSI benchmarking process plays a key role in providing integrity in the third party certification process.”
