Independent marine ingredient responsible sourcing standard IFFO RS is changing its name and logo to MarinTrust to protect the credibility of certificate holders and build a degree of separation to avoid confusion with its founders at trade association IFFO.
"If you are an IFFO RS certificate holder, you had to go through an extensive audit and reach the dictated standard," IFFO RS Executive Chair Libby Woodhatch told IntraFish.
"The confusion has meant that people could think IFFO as a membership body hands out certificates to its members, which is not the case because we are a separate third-party standard."
The initial plan was to launch the re-branding in the first week of April in the run up to Brussels Seafood Show. However, with plans changing due to Covid-19, MarinTrust decided to launch anyway to a captive home audience, Woodhatch said.
Set up as a spin-off of the marine ingredients organization IFFO in 2009, independent third-party business-to-business standard MarinTrust is aimed at raising the bar in the international fishmeal and oil industry, focusing on the factories bringing the product to market and assessing the fisheries that supply them.
The certification program is divided into IFFO RS Global Standard for Responsible Supply (IFFO RS), the IFFO RS Chain of Custody for Responsible Supply (IFFO RS CoC) and the IFFO RS Improver Program (IFFO RS IP).
The program and standard are not changing, only the name and there will be a transition period for the changes to take force.
"Nothing changes for the companies that are certified or want to be certified, just the logo and name," Woodhatch said.
