MarinTrust allowing remote audits, as Exalmar gains chain of custody certification

Lima, Peru-based fishmeal and fish oil producer Exalmar has become the first company to achieve the MarinTrust chain of custody standard under its version 2.0 standards for further processing and trading activities.

“We are eager to meet the demands of international markets. Our commitment is from the capture of the raw material from responsible sources, processing and certified storage, for its safe and traceable commercialisation. This means assuring our customers the full traceability of all our fishmeal and fish oil,” Exalmar Commercial Manager Judith Vivar said.

MarinTrust’s version 2.0 was launched in November 2020 and includes new, revised, and strengthened clauses to ensure full traceability of compliant products. The certification includes audits to ensure certified marine ingredient businesses are compliant with full traceability of compliant products from approved raw materials to the manufacture, further processing, and trading of safe products. MarinTrust chain-of-custody certified sites can label their products with the “MarinTrust Certified” mark, though if ownership is passed to a trader, that trader must also gain CoC certification to maintain the product integrity and unbroken, certified supply chain.

“We are delighted that Exalmar has achieved certification for its trading operations under our new [chain of custody] standard,” MarinTrust CEO Francisco Aldon said in a press release. “This is a demanding and selective process which implies full segregation and traceability of any certified marine ingredient from start to finish of the supply chain.”

MarinTrust also announced, as of 7 March, 2022, it is allowing new applicants and high-risk facilities to partake in partially remote audits via an “enhanced remote audit,” under which a MarinTrust-approved auditor will lead the audit remotely, while a local auditor that is ICT trained will attend the audit onsite to be the “eyes, nose, and ears” in support of the lead auditor.

“So far, new applicants and high-risk facilities have been unable to be audited on a fully remote basis in order to gain or maintain certification. This was an agreed approach due to the potential risk to the assurance of the MarinTrust program,” MarinTrust Assurance and Risk Manager Laura Courage. “We are delighted that we have managed to overcome this challenge through collective development and rigorous pilot testing over several months, including upcoming specific training sessions for certification bodies.”

Photo courtesy of Exalmar