ISO standard on traceability of finfish products released

The use of a new ISO standard on the traceability of finfish products will help improve food safety by supplying stakeholders throughout the supply chain with accurate information about the origin and nature of these products.

During the past decade, several food crises have seriously affected many countries. Following the crises, the concept of traceability of food products has become a matter of special interest to policy makers and scientists. Also, legislation often requires traceability to facilitate the recall of products or to prevent them from reaching the consumer. As finfish constitute an important part of the modern food industry and fish may be caught thousands of kilometres from their place of consumption, traceability in this market is essential. 

ISO 12875:2011, Traceability of finfish products - Specification on the information to be recorded in captured finfish distribution chains, specifies the information to be recorded in marine-captured finfish supply chains in order to establish traceability.

It specifies how traded fishery products are to be identified, and the information to be generated and held on those products by each of the food businesses that physically trade them through the distribution chains. The standard deals with the distribution for human consumption of marine-captured finfish and their products, from catch through to retailers or caterers.

The ISO definition of traceability concerns the ability to trace the history, application and location of that which is under consideration, and for products this can include the origin of materials and parts, the processing history and the distribution and location of the product after delivery. Traceability includes not only the principal requirement to be able to physically trace products through the distribution chain, from origin to destination, but also to be able to provide information on what they are made of and what has happened to them. These further aspects of traceability are important in relation to food safety, quality and labelling.

Rolf Duus, the secretary of the Working Group that developed the standard, comments, “In the last few years, there has been an increased interest in traceability and the responsibility for the supply of safe, healthy and nutritious food is shared between all actors involved in the production, processing, marketing and consumption of fish and seafood. ISO 12875:2011 provides a generic basis for traceability and will help to guarantee the health protection of consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade of finfish products.”

A similar standard for farmed finfish distribution chains is also available: ISO 12877:2011, Traceability of finfish products - Specification on the information to be recorded in farmed finfish distribution chains.

ISO 12875:2011 and ISO 12877:2011 were developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 234, Fisheries and aquaculture and are available in Australia from SAI Global.