The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) division of the Global Aquaculture Alliance has added Food Certification International Ltd. (FCI) to its team of BAP-approved third-party certification bodies. In a service agreement between the two organizations, FCI will conduct auditing and certification activities for aquaculture farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills that apply for BAP certification.

“FCI is extremely pleased to have been awarded approval by BAP and is looking forward to assisting in the ongoing growth of the BAP standards into new species and geographies. The ability to provide BAP certification complements FCIs service offering to the international aquaculture and seafood processing sectors,” said FCI Managing Director Martin Gill.

Founded in 1996 and based in Inverness, Scotland, FCI specializes in the certification of aquaculture, fisheries and related supply chains and is accredited to multiple seafood certification systems. In June, FCI became part of Acoura, formerly known as the Certus Compliance Group.

FCI joins SGS, Global Trust Certification, and NSF International as the ISO/IEC Guide 65 accredited certification bodies (CBs) designated to perform BAP audits. The use of independent, accredited CBs allows certification against the BAP standards to comply with international requirements for the operation of credible global certification schemes.

“We are very pleased to welcome FCI as a BAP-approved certification body. The company’s expertise in seafood and aquaculture will be a very valuable addition for the BAP program, which continues to experience rapid growth globally in all sectors of the seafood production chain.” said Lisa Goché, BAP vice president.