MSD, GSA launch traceability platforms
VETERINARY science group MSD Animal Health has launched a new DNA-based analytical tool to help ensure traceability for seafood and protect endangered fishery stocks.
The company, a division of Merck & Co, said its DNA TRACEBACK® Fisheries platform uses genome sequencing to provide regulators with the tools they need to determine and monitor catch limits and quotas more effectively across a range of fish species including cod, herring, horse mackerel and sprat.
TRACEBACK uses technology developed by genetics specialists IdentiGEN that combines each species’ unique DNA and data analytics to provide an evidence-based animal traceability solution.
The DNA TRACEBACK Fisheries platform is currently being used in Irish waters to assess annual herring stocks and can be used to provide a standardised platform and common data framework for other species managed under the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy.
Meanwhile, The Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) has partnered with tech business Envisible to collaborate on a sourcing and traceability solution for the industry worldwide. The platform will allow data from different tracing systems to be shown together in one format.
Envisible will digitise GSA’s operations in a multi-year partnership that will leverage supply chain information for Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and Best Seafood Practices (BSP) stakeholders across the globe. This initiative, GSA says, will enable its partners and endorsers to visualise non-identifiable data shared from stakeholders throughout certified supply chains.
GSA said the project will enable its marketplace partners and certified producers to share supply chain data, irrespective of the traceability system they use in order to enhance and verify compliance with the BAP and BSP certification standards.
GSA CEO Brian Perkins said: “Our partnership with Envisible and the digitisation of seafood assurances is the next big step in providing greater value to our partners and endorsers by leveraging supply chain information and further strengthening our BAP and BSP certification programs. We’re becoming a more data driven organization, and Envisible is helping us get there.”