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Biorigin is recognised ISO 1 4001/2015
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Dr Neil Auchterlonie Feeding our growing population
his month I am writing my column whilst attending the FAO’s International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability in Rome. The focus of the symposium is “Strengthening the Science-Policy Nexus” and it runs over four days at the FAO Headquarters building. With over 700 delegates from around the world, there are many involved directly with fisheries industry, policy, management, and science in attendance. The format for the event has been a series of keynote presentations leading a panel discussion and a Q&A session with the audience. A common theme underpinning all the presentations and the discussions has been reference to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and particularly SDG14, Life Below Water. Understandably, the aims of the SDGs are highly visible with the FAO, but it is interesting to see how much they are being woven increasingly into government strategies and scientific objectives. I know that many of the marine ingredient producers and the aquafeed companies are also aligning their work to the SDGs, recognising their importance to business sustainability. The major message coming from the event relates to the importance of fisheries and aquaculture in providing aquatic food for the future growing human population. As we all know, working in the industry, aquatic protein is the most efficient to produce and this can be done with relative reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in a way that can support the mitigation of climate change impacts. This is an immensely important message in this time when we are being inundated with media reports of the effects of global temperatures rising and the imperative to maintain that increase as low as may be possible. That link between producing more food from aquatic systems and relative decreases in climate change impact risk is strengthening over time, but there were other secondary and important messages also coming through in the event. These related to the importance of fisheries in providing jobs, income, and thus poverty eradication, as well as the importance of micronutrients in seafood. The latter topic was fascinating and relates to much of what we know in IFFO about the micronutrient content of fishmeal and the reasons why it is such a good feed ingredient. In the context of human nutrition, it appears that the richness in micronutrient supply via fish consumption, whether long chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins or minerals, all improve the bioavailability of micronutrients in vegetable-source foods, so they have an additional effect that goes beyond their own nutritional content. Although aquaculture is increasingly being recognised as important in relation to food security, there are also more references to non-fed aquaculture as important, with fed aquaculture apparently not being afforded the same emphasis. It seems that this is result of some negative perceptions about fish feed development and ingredient supply, not least the production of fishmeal and fish oil which even in this forum is often misunderstood. There is much to be done in ensuring that the public message about the importance of fed aquaculture is heard around the world, otherwise the industry may lose out on what is a fantastic opportunity for future growth. Dr Neil Auchterlonie is the Technical Director at IFFO. He has managed aquaculture and fisheries science programmes in both public and private sectors. Academically he holds a BSc in Marine and Freshwater Biology from Stirling University, a MSc in Applied Fish Biology from the University of Plymouth, and a PhD in Aquaculture (halibut physiology) from Stirling University. 8 | December 2019 - International Aquafeed
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iorigin is proud to announce that its three Brazilian production units are now ISO 14001/2015. Recently a team of auditors from the ABS-QE certifier analysed the company’s environmental management practices. The audit was ended without records of non-compliance and Biorigin received the recommendation which recognises the sustainable actions and goals promoted by the company and which contributes to the search for increasingly demanding customers and markets. Biorigin is always following the most important demands and market trends in order to work on the art of creating natural and sustainable solutions which promote people and animalś health and well-being. “Consumers seek healthy, natural alternatives that bring appeals for sustainability. In addition, they require transparency from the food and pet food industries and from the animal protein chain, checking product labels and animal production condition and their impact on environment”, says Mario Steinmetz, Biorigin General Manager. ISO 14001 is the international standard that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system (EMS). It provides a framework that an organisation can follow, rather than establishing environmental performance requirements. “We have built a solid path to demonstrate to our stakeholders that our ingredients, in addition to their natural origin, quality and technology, have important environmental added value to food and feed industries worldwide”, adding Steinmetz.