Transcript Slide 1

Market-based Quality
Schemes, Certification,
Organic Labels
Helga Josupeit
Fishery Industry Officer
FAO
Rome, May 2007
Outline
• General Considerations
• Certification: Supply versus Demand
– quality schemes and geographical schemes
– eco-labels
– organic labels
• Stakeholder Concerns
• Conclusions
Labelling: Demand driven?
Customer Value Triangle
Quality
Price
Service
Certification schemes – Production side
Certification
Wild
eco labeling
Aquaculture
other cert.
organic
Fair Trade
other cert.
Certification schemes –Demand (Supermarkets Side)
Logo/trade mark
Fear: bad publicity
Loyalty
Brand value
Social aspects
animal welfare
health
organic
sustainability
ILO laws
Fair Trade
quality
Certification schemes –Demand (Customer Side)
Logo/trade mark
Ethics
Social aspects
Service/
Convenience
Health
Price
animal welfare
nutrition
organic
sustainability
quality
safety
ILO laws
Fair Trade
Organic Consumers
ORGANIC CONSUMERS
‘HEAVY USERS’
YOUNG FAMILIES
WITH SMALL CHILDREN and OLDER PEOPLE
OCCASIONAL CONSUMERS
Motivation
Motivation
Motivation
 Environment
concern
 Health concern
 Ethic aspects
 Health concern
 Environment concern
‘ Consumer-friendly’
 Life Style aspects
 Gourmet/Quality
considerations
 Health concern
Purchase Location Purchase Location
Purchase Location
 Traditional Health
Food Stores
 Local markets
 Conventional
supermarkets
 Organic supermarkets
 Traditional Health Food
Stores
 Conventional
supermarkets
 Organic supermarkets
 Local markets
Certification schemes – Production and Demand
Certification
Wild
Aquaculture
other cert.
eco labeling
other cert.
organic
Fair Trade
Logo/trade mark
Loyalty
Brand value
Social aspects
sustainability
ILO laws
animal welfare
health
organic
Fair Trade
quality
Geographical labels
Quality labels
FAO Guidelines
• The FAO guidelines are aimed at providing
guidance to governments and organizations that
already maintain, or are considering
establishing, labelling schemes for certifying and
promoting labels for fish and fishery products
from well managed marine capture
fisheries.
Reliable, independent auditing,
Third party certification,
Transparency of standard-setting and
accountability,
Standards to be based on good
science.
FAO Guidelines
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PRINCIPLES
2. The following principles should apply to ecolabelling schemes for
marine capture fisheries:
2.1 Be consistent with UNCLOS, Straddling Stocks Agreement,
CCRF and WTO rules
2.2 Recognize the sovereign rights of States and comply with
all relevant laws and regulations.
2.3 Be of a voluntary nature and market-driven.
2.4 Be transparent, including balanced and fair
participation by all interested parties.
2.5 Be non-discriminatory, do not create
unnecessary obstacles to trade
and allow for fair trade and competition
FAO Guidelines (cont.)
• PRINCIPLES
• 2.6 Provide the opportunity to enter international markets
• 2.7 Establish clear accountability for the owners of schemes and the
certification bodies in conformity with international standards.
• 2.8 Incorporate reliable, independent auditing and verification
procedures.
• 2.9 Be considered equivalent if consistent with these guidelines.
• 2.10 Be based on the best scientific evidence available
• 2.11 Be practical, viable and verifiable.
• 2.12 Ensure that labels communicate truthful
information.
• 2.13 Provide for clarity.
• 2.14 Be based, at a minimum, on the
minimum substantive requirements, criteria
and procedures outlined in these guidelines.
Eco labelling schemes
• NGOs
– Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
– Earth Island ‘Dolphin-safe’ labelling
– International Dolphin Conservation
Program
– Friends of the Sea
– Krav (Sweden)
– Ecofish (USA)
– Naturland
• Governments
– Iceland
– Ireland
– EU
Processors adopting
eco-labelling schemes
• Unilever and Permira (new owner of most of Unilever seafood
business)
• CapVest (owver of Young’s Seafood
and Findus in France and Nordic
countries)
• Pescanova
• Lyons seafood
• Caterers, importers and wholesalers catching up very slowly
• Fortune Fish Company – a wholesale
seafood distribution in Chicago starts
“sustainability initiative”
• Seafood Choices Alliance
Supermarkets adopting
eco-labelling schemes
• Carrefour – own eco-label
• Other retailers*:
– ban of certain endangered species
– ban of fishing gears
– minimum commercial size above legal size
*)
Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury, ASDA,
Auchan
Supermarkets adopting
eco-labelling schemes
Countries
Number of products
Switzerland
69 MSC
Sweden
44 MSC + 2 KRAV*
France
13 MSC
UK
87 MSC
USA
93 MSC + 7 Ecofish*
Japan
14 MSC
Germany
63 MSC
Spain
2 MSC
Italy
25 FOS, 3 MSC
Supermarkets adopting
sustainability-labelling schemes
Supermarket
Policy
Wal-Mart
MSC for wild, GAA for organic
Sainsbury
working closely with the Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC)
Coop Swiss
Naturland for organic shrimp
Tesco
Partnering with MSC
Metro
EII, MSC
Carrefour
Own scheme for “responsible fishing”
Ahold USA
Eco-Sound: sustainable fisheries
ICA Sweden
MSC
Lidl
MSC
Eco-labelling schemes
• Processors
– Young’s
– Fishmongers: Fishes,
Netherlands
The International Principles for
Responsible Shrimp Farming
(2006)
• The International Principles for Responsible Shrimp
Farming have been developed by the Consortium on
Shrimp farming and the Environment, which consists of
FAO, NACA, UNEP/GPA, the World Bank and WWF.
• The principles address issues including:
* Farm site.
* Farm design.
* Water use.
* Broodstock and postlarvae.
* Feed management.
* Health management.
* Food safety.
* Social responsibility.
Organic Aquaculture principles
– sites regularly replenished with pollution free water
– fish of natural origin and selection (absolutely no
GMO and hormonal treatment)
– feed based on controlled meals, oils and so on (no
GMO)
– limited and monitored treatment with medicines
(preference for natural remedies)
– low breeding/stocking density
– longer rearing periods
– continuous monitoring of environmental impacts
good practices labelling schemes
• GAA
Global Aquaculture Alliance
set up
Aquaculture Certification
Council Inc.
this scheme is adopted by WALMART for its
aquaculture products
• Thai GAP certification
• Italian API certification
good practices labelling schemes
• Crianza del Mar (España)
– control of culturing methods
– feed control
– sanitary control
– animal welfare
– no chemicals or additives
– 24 h marketing
– environmental control
– enterprise management
Organic labelling schemes
• NGOs
– Naturland
– Krav,
– Soil Association, UK
– Bioland
– Biogro, New Zealand
• Governments
– French Ministry of Agriculture
(AB public scheme)
Organic labelling schemes
Certification body
Species
Naturland, Germany
Shrimp, carp, trout, blue
mussel, salmon
salmon, rainbow trout,
brown trout, arctic char, fish
from the perch family, blue
mussel
Shrimp, salmon, trout, cod
Trout, salmon, seabass,
seabream
Krav,Sweden
Soil Association, UK
French Ministry of
Agriculture (AB public
scheme)
Biogro, New Zealand,
Salmon, crayfish, oysters,
seaweed
TILAPIA
Organic labelling schemes
• Processors
– Deutsche See
Organic in the USA
When it pays to buy organic? (From Consumer Report,
USA, 2006)
• Don’t bother buying these items organic: seafood
– Whether caught in the wild or farmed, fish can be labelled
organic, despite the presence of contaminants such as mercury
and PCBs.
– The USDA has not yet developed organic certification standards
for seafood.
– In the meantime, producers are allowed to make their own
organic claims as long as they don’t use “USDA” or “certified
organic” logos. California, however, recently passed a law that
prohibits the use of any organic labelling on fish and other
seafood until either state or federal certification standards are
established.
Critics by stakeholders
• Eco/bio-labelling scope and definition are not clear
enough,
• Eco/bio labelling is not practical to implement, especially
for multi-species fisheries,
• Being certified is costly, when the price premium is not
guaranteed,
• Going through the full process for certification requires
much effort, time and competence that may be lacking,
• The lack of criteria related to the quality of the fish are
considered as a weakness of eco/bio label,
• At last but not least, fish folks expressed to have some
doubts about the legitimacy and credibility of the
standards holder,
Critics by stakeholders (cont.)
• Environmentalists and/ or non fishermen are not
welcome to tell us what we should do,
• Reluctance to give power to other than fishermen to set
the criteria, and verify the fishing activity,
• Entering into a controlled scheme will prevent us to sell
on the black market and reduce our revenues,
• Some would prefer to consider joining a public
programme,
• Some would prefer to consider joining a national
programme,
• Reducing fishing efforts on some species, some areas,
juveniles, may create new opportunities to competing
fishermen,
• Fisheries and aquaculture regulation is stringent enough;
no desire for a new layer of constraints,
Critics by stakeholders (cont.)
• there are to many certifiers around, each certifier has his
own interpretation of the rulebook, so the same
certificate is certified to different standards
• there are also to many labels, and the consumer is
confused, what the differences are and whom to trust
• most of the organic labels are weak on social and labour
law issues or are not really looking at them,
• for certifiers or label owners the most important thing is
to make money to survive, so they are weak on their own
standards
• for many farmers producers the certification is a
marketing tool, so they build a screen for the certifiers
Conclusions
• Various NGOs involved in eco/bio-labelling
• More countries involved in quality labels
for national aquaculture products
• supermarkets:
– will continue to have sustainability as a buying
policy for seafood
– very worried about bad publicity
– interested in maximizing profits and
expanding market shares
Conclusions
• importers/processors and catering
– rather slow in considering eco/biolabels
• Consumers:
– are already confused and will become even
more confused with more and more labels
– willing to pay more for organic products,
– but not for eco-labelled products
Conclusions
• developing countries
– non tariff barriers?
– problems with product quality
– already some (Thailand) trying to promote
good aquaculture practices with all producers
– huge risk of leaving small scale producers out
from the labelling process
Thank you for your attention