Fairfield, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/21/2011 -- In a service agreement between BAP and SGS, the independent contractor (SGS) will perform facility inspections and certification audits for aquaculture farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills that apply for BAP certification.

"We are very pleased to work with an auditing organization with such worldwide capacity and capabilities as SGS," BAP Executive Director Jim Heerin said, "particularly as the Global Aquaculture Alliance is preparing to announce the completion of new standards."

Best Aquaculture Practices (Link to: http://www.foodsafety.sgs.com/best-aquaculture-practices.htm)(BAP) certification is based on standards developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance, an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible aquaculture. The BAP standards are drafted by species-specific technical committees and reviewed by a Standards Oversight Committee of varied stakeholders following a period of public comment.

“This achievement represents a very important step for SGS in order to meet the food safety and sustainability needs of aquaculture industry and retailers globally through BAP certification” states Rob Parrish, Vice President Global Food at SGS.

The BAP standards address environmental and social responsibility, animal welfare, food safety and traceability in a voluntary certification program for aquaculture facilities.

Successful participants in the BAP program are awarded with the “Best Aquaculture Practices Certification” mark for use on packaging of seafood products, demonstrating to consumers a participant’s commitment to providing safe and sustainably sourced seafood.

Last year the BAP certification program was successfully benchmarked against the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety requirements, therefore seafood processing plants can now achieve both BAP certification and GFSI compliance through a single audit process.

If you need more information, don’t hesitate to contact us:

SGS Consumer Testing Services
Jennifer Buckley
Global Food Marketing Manager, SGS North America, Inc.
291 Fairfield Avenue, Fairfield, NJ 07004, USA

t: +1 (973) 461 1498
f: +1 (973) 575 7175

E-Mail: cts.media@sgs.com
Website: http://www.sgs.com/foodsafety

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With 64,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,250 offices and laboratories around the world.