New Videos to Help Teach Staff About Chain of Custody Certification

New training videos will help managers train their staff working at fresh fish counters in retail and in the foodservice sector learn about the Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard and its implementation in their work setting.

The CoC standard is an important part of the assurance ASC and MSC certified seafood provides since it requires traceability along the supply chain and physical separation from non-certified products. For a seafood product to carry the ASC or MSC logo, every company in the supply chain handling fish must have a valid Chain of Custody certificate. The standard is managed by MSC, and its requirements set out five key principles, such as ensuring products are identifiable and traceable, volumes are recorded, and certified products are kept separate from non-certified products. Because every company in the supply chain must meet the standard, consumers can be assured that the ASC or MSC logo means they are purchasing certified seafood from a responsible farm or sustainable fishery.

The standard also requires that supply chain companies need to train their staff on these requirements, and how to ensure compliance with the standard. Experience has shown that this is sometimes challenging for retail and foodservice partners due to large numbers of staff in numerous locations and relatively high staff turnover, so MSC and ASC have developed animations specifically for these settings. While the videos will not fulfil all requirements for training, they are a useful resource to help provide guidance in an easy and consistent way.

“Seafood supply chains can be long and complex, which is why it is so important to have a robust Chain of Custody Standard,” said Desirée Pesci, ASC Communications Manager. “We are always looking for ways to help our retail and food service stakeholders and give them the tools they need to comply with the standard and maintain consumer confidence in the ASC and MSC labels. At the same time, we hope these videos will encourage staff to feel invested in the ASC and MSC programmes, and understand how their actions directly impact the future of our marine and land resources.”

The total of three videos are available for free on the ASC YouTube channel and will be shared with ASC and MSC partners. For more information, contact loren.hiller@msc.org or desiree.pesci@asc-aqua.org