First ASC certified shrimp on sale in Belgium

The first Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified shrimp has been launched in Belgium by Morubel, which supplies their shrimp to the Colruyt Group.

From last weekend, Colruyt has offered responsibly farmed ASC labelled shrimp across 130 stores in Belgium.

“This is a scoop for both Morubel and the Colruyt Group, as it is the first ASC certified shrimp that will be for sale in Benelux,” said Chris Meskens, Morubel Communication Marketing & CSR Manager.

“We supported our  producers Stapimex and Vietnam Clean Seafood in preparation for their ASC audits in Vietnam, and both are now ASC certified.”

Stapimex and Vietnam Clean Seafood received their ASC certification following  independent, third party assessments against the ASC Shrimp Standard conducted by the certification body Control Union Peru.

Traceability assurance

With the introduction of ASC certified shrimp, Colruyt Group takes another step towards fulfilling their commitment to responsible seafood sourcing. The Belgian retailer is already offering ASC certified tilapia, pangasius and salmon though their own brand.

ASC certified seafood is easily recognised by the on-pack ASC logo. The logo guarantees that ASC labelled shrimp comes from a farm that has been independently certified to the ASC standard.

ASC labelled seafood can be traced back through the supply chain to a responsibly managed fish farm. In order to achieve chain of custody certification each company in the supply chain must meet strict requirements and have in place traceability systems that ensure no product mixing or substitutions can occur.

ASC certified shrimp has so far been introduced in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and France, with more countries to follow in the new year.