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 became effective as of January 2023. Certified farms will have until October 2025 to switch to ASC compliant feed to continue meeting the ASC Farm standards.
Benefits of becoming certified
Certification to the ASC standards gives producers several benefits:
- Access to markets with requirement for ASC certified feed
- Clear and credible communication on responsible feed production
- Independent verification of levels of environmentally sustainable ingredients sourced
Getting started
The first step is to get more information on the certification scheme and become familiar with the ASC feed standard. The standard is available for download from the ASC website.
DNV is an independent third-party certification body accredited for the ASC Feed standard and can support you on your certification journey. Our experts are among the most experienced auditors in the aquaculture industry.
