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Aller Aqua and American Seafoods are triumphant at IFFO Awards as the 57th Annual Conference comes to a close

(Washington D.C, U.S.A.) IFFO’s 57th Annual Conference came to a close last night with the announcement of the winners of the IFFO Awards. Danish feed company Aller Aqua (IFFO Non-Producer member) won a Leadership and Innovation Award for their expansion work in Africa, delivered by implementing a strong management structure and taking a responsible approach and focussed on CSR. IFFO Producer member American Seafoods Co. won a Leadership Award for their work in driving fisheries improvements in their industries, such as MSC certifications of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Pacific hake fisheries, both posting the highest MSC scores in any whitefish fishery; and being the first US fishing company to complete a 4-pillar, Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) with no corrective actions.

The awards were presented by the IFFO President Michael Copeland who noted that “this year’s winners showed that taking brave steps in expanding to the new markets and improving sustainable practices can both strengthen your business and ensure the continued prosperous growth of our marine ingredients industry. I would like to congratulate both Aller Aqua and American Seafoods for their important work and the other finalists in these awards, who all put forward strong examples of both leadership and innovation.” The winners were selected by the IFFO Management Board and more information about the finalists can be found here.

This year’s conference was attended by 400 delegates from 37 countries and included 47 presentations from leading industry scientists, case studies on countries and specific industries and analyses of latest market trends. Presentations included the USA’s National Fisheries Institute’s John Connelly giving a fascinating insight into the host country’s seafood market and warned the global industry to keep a close eye on US trade policies in this turbulent period. There was a strong focus on both nutrition and sustainability, with presentations on quality feed by Loch Duart’s Andy Bing,  GOED’s Harry Rice on fish oil and cardiovascular science and GSI’s Avrim Lazar on their zero waste imperative. IFFO’s team gave insights into the EU’s approach to the reauthorisation of ethoxyquin), the development of the Codex and China fish oil standards, and the work with the IMO on the amendment to the IMDG Code.

On concluding the conference, IFFO’s Director General Andrew Mallison said that “for three short days the IFFO conference is the heart of the marine ingredients industry and it gives us a unique chance to share, engage and plan together. We enjoyed another successful year as an industry, but with changes in supply, new areas of innovation and the constant requirement for growth, it is vital that we stay on our toes. Our ingredients remain the best for nutrition and we must continue to work together to ensure a sustainable future”

Daily summaries on the conference have been published on the IFFO Blog

The Aller Aqua and American seafood applications are available upon request.

-Ends -

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Notes for Editors

  1. About the IFFO Annual Conference: Held every year in a different city and running for over 50 years, the IFFO Annual Conference is the essential meeting place for the worldwide fishmeal, fish oil and wider marine ingredients industry to network and share information.  More information about the conference visit www.iffoevents.com
  2. IFFO is an international trade organisation that represents and promotes the marine ingredients industry, such as fishmeal, fish oil and other related industries. Marine ingredients are nutritious products used mainly for aquafeed, land animal feed as well as for human consumption and are derived from marine organisms such as fish, krill, shellfish and algae. IFFO’s members reside in more than 50 countries, account for over 50% of world production and 75% of the fishmeal and fish oil traded worldwide. IFFO is an accredited Observer to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). More information at www.iffo.net
  3. Fishmeal is a natural, balanced, highly nutritious feed ingredient used in diets for farmed fish and crustaceans and as a high protein supplement in nutritionally demanding periods in the life cycle of pigs and poultry, as well as in pet food.
  4. Fish oil is the major natural source (97%) of the healthy long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Most fish oil is used in feeds for farmed fish and there is an expanding market for fish oil for human nutritional supplements and functional foods.