ASC feed standard

Ensure feed mills meet strict environmental and social requirements; source ingredients from socially responsible suppliers; and use environmentally responsible raw materials. Place emphasis on a holistic way by requiring responsible sourcing for all major feed ingredients.

The Feed Standard takes the ASC’s approach to responsible aquaculture and extends it to the feed mills that manufacture aquafeed, as well as the suppliers of their ingredients. 

Effective from January 2023, the ASC Feed Standard tackles one of the biggest potential impacts of aquaculture, the production of feed, and does so in a holistic way by requiring responsible sourcing for all major feed ingredients. 

The feed mills can now be assessed against the ASC Feed standard assuring consumers that the feed used on ASC certified farms is responsibly sourced – whether it includes marine or land-based ingredients. 

What is ASC Feed Standard

The ASC Feed Standard makes clear that while certified mills must source increasing levels of environmentally sustainable ingredients, marine ingredients in fact make up a minority of feed ingredients, with around 75% of global aquafeed ingredients derived from agriculture – crops like soy, wheat and rice. These have their own impacts, notably deforestation and land conversion, which are often overlooked in debates about the industry. 

For plant-based ingredients, as with marine- based, mills will have to record and report all ingredients that make up over 1% of a feed, and will need to take steps to ensure they have been responsibly sourced. Crucially, they will have to assess the risk of a particular ingredient contributing towards deforestation or land conversion, and must commit to transitioning to a supply chain free from these key negative impacts. 

The Standard is effective since January 2023, from when the feed mills are eligible for certification. Farms will have until 31 October 2025 to switch to ASC compliant feed in order to continue meeting the ASC Farm Standards.