According to the information these the seafood companies enjoying the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program can share with their customers, business partners and consumers that participation in BAP provides assurances that seafood is produced with food safety as the top priority.
The press release states that BAP audits food safety throughout the aquaculture production process, from hatchery and feed mill to farm and processing plant, which is not done in some certification schemes. Facilities found out of compliance are not approved for certification until appropriate corrective actions are implemented. There is a level of standards for all BAP farm which examine chemical use and related food safety.
Farms should check the entry of human health hazards, human waste and untreated animal manure into pond areas. Livestock must be controlled, and runoff from barns and other facilities shall not enter ponds. Domestic sewage must be treated and properly disposed of. All use of chloramphenicol, nitrofuran antibiotics and malachite green is banned.
Regular area monitoring examines potentially harmful chemical use. Farms must comply with all government environmental regulations for drug use, as well as land and water use. As for BAP plant standards all seafood processing plants must have current hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) plans that minimize the risks of food safety hazards by controlling both the production process and the environment in which it takes place.
