The FOS certification, first attained in 2011, attests that the firm’s omega-3 fish oil supplies come from certified supply chains including “approved purse seiners, with no impact to the seabed.”
Olvea gets its fish oils from the Central Eastern Atlantic Ocean fishing zone (United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) designated area 34).
The certification means Olvea must:
- Source its fish oils in geographical fishing areas where fish stocks have been monitored and assessed by the FAO and local oceanographic research institutes as not presenting any risk of collapsing
- Guarantee that the fish species used in the production of its omega-3 oils are not on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list of threatened species, nor on the appendices I to III of the CITES Convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
- Support the artisanal fishing through its supplies
- Follow the FAO code of conduct for responsible fishing and fish farming, and provide to its eco-responsible customers fish oils exclusively processed from by-products.
“We have a rigorous sustainability management policy in place. We source our fish oils in geographical zones where the fish stocks have been monitored and assessed by the FAO as sustainable,” Olvea said.
Broad FOS sustainable criteria includes:
- target stock to be not overexploited
- fishery to generate maximum 8% discards
- no by-catch of endangered species
- no impact on the seabed
- compliance with regulations (Total allowable catches (TAC); Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; FOC (Flags of Convenience); minimum size, etc)
- social accountability
- gradual reduction of carbon footprint
FOS-certified companies include Aker, Rimfrost, Neptune, Boehringer Ingelheim, Amundsen Omega3, BASF, GlaxoSmithKline, Healthspan, Naturmega, Nordic Naturals, Omega Proteins, Swanson Health Products and Vifor Pharma.
Olvea said, like most suppliers, it employs Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) methods.