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No 3rd Party Seafood Certifications for the Federal Government

The part of the federal government tasked with supplying food and other products for the government has eliminated the use of 3rd party certifications for seafood. In a letter sent to Senator Lisa Murkowski, the General Services Administration confirms that the “Healthy and Sustainable Food Guidelines” have been updated to remove references to 3rd party certifications. Assistant Commissioner Darren Blue notes that the guidelines continue to reflect the best of federal fisheries management policy and practices, but they omit any reference to 3rd party certification systems. In a written statement Senator Murkowski says that the revised guidelines on sustainability are a simple-but-significant improvement. Currently, Alaska’s commercially caught salmon are covered by 2 sustainability certifications. The first is the “Responsible Fisheries Management” certification supported by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and the majority of the major seafood processors in Alaska. The second certification is from the Marine Stewardship Council’s label that is considered the flagship of the seafood sustainability labels.