Following recent investigations into every step of our supply chain, far beyond the feed mills, hatcheries and shrimp farms that comprise the scope of CP Foods' shrimp business, we have now completely locked down our supply chain. The by-product fishmeal used by CP Foods produce shrimp feed is already certified IFFO RS CoC, the international benchmark in the sustainable usage of fishmeal. For the by-catch portion of our fishmeal usage, we have locked down our supply to 30 by-catch fishmeal suppliers and 380 fishing vessels, for which we have full visibility and traceability on sustainability and social issues.
We have been working in a number of ways to reinforce the audit and monitoring of our by-catch fishmeal supply:
Ensuring our by-catch supply chain is free from labour issues: It is important to remember that CP Foods is a producer of farmed shrimp and shrimp feed: we have never been an operator of and fishing vessel, and we do not produce fishmeal . We currently work with 30 by-catch fish meal suppliers, a reduction from the 50+ suppliers we previously worked with. These 30 by-catch fishmeal suppliers and the 380 fishing vessels they work with have undergone audits all the way back to the fishing vessel and comply with the procedures of recording crew members at the ports.
On-going audits and monitoring of our by-catch fishmeal suppliers: We are continuing with on-site audits of more fishmeal producers and fishing vessels in conjunction with the Department of Labour Welfare & Protection and Department of Fisheries. Only those fishmeal suppliers (and the fishing vessels they work with) who agree that they will record crew manifests at every arrival and departure from port, record and keep full vessel fishing logs, and agree to regular audits will be approved as suppliers to CP Foods.
3rd party validation of our by-catch audit process: CP Food is committed to being transparent and open in its shrimp supply chain and we believe that we have reached a solution that ensures our shrimp supply chain is free from labour issues. Currently, CP Foods’ by-catch fishmeal traceability and audit system is undergoing independent, third-party verification by Underwriters Laboratories (“UL”), a world-leading audit company.
We continue to believe that the vast majority of those working in the fishing industry are hardworking and honest fishermen making a traditional living in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea. We are paying a premium to the market rate for all of out fishmeal and have put in place a system that ensures that our customers can be completely confident that our supply chain is free from both environmental and labour isses. We believe it is vital to keep alive an honest profession that provides jobs for the millions of people in Thailand that depend on fishing for their livelihood.