CHILE - The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) programme has expanded its certifications of international salmon facilities with the successful audit of Comsur Ltd, the processing plant division of Trusal S.A. in Puerto Montt, Chile.
"The Global Aquaculture Alliance congratulates Comsur Ltd. on its achievement of BAP plant certification," GAA President George Chamberlain said. "We feel a debt of gratitude to Comsur for being the first salmon company to proactively invite BAP to conduct a trial audit of its outstanding plant. Such cooperation and transparency are key to public trust, which is essential to the future advancement of aquaculture."
With a daily production capacity of 120 tons and staff of 850 during high season, Comsur Ltd. is the only plant in the Chilean salmon industry with facilities designed to receive, process and store product in a continuous flow. This non-stop approach yields high-quality fish that satisfy demanding markets that include end users of raw salmon.
"By achieving the BAP certification, our ongoing commitment to search for improvements in our operations is reconfirmed," Rodrigo Fernando Matus Navarrete, Comsur Ltd. general manager, said. "Meeting the standards allowed our company to advance in a significant way through new techniques and methods in quality management."
"BAP certification also adds value to our products in foreign markets by answering the needs of our main clients for salmon that meets these high standards," he said.
Developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance, the international Best Aquaculture Practices standards require biodiversity protection, effluent limits, worker safety and strict controls on chemical use. The processing plant standards also reinforce existing HACCP plans and require traceability. The certification process includes site inspections and in-depth audits by third-party certification bodies.