QUALITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION

An important tool in the Group’s quality and environmental efforts is certification according to international standards. In 2013, Lerøy Seafood Group was the first company worldwide to be certified according to the ASC standard, which ensures that our aquaculture business is conducted in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner.

The Group has worked for many years to ensure high quality and has developed control systems based on GLOBALG.A.P., MSC, ASC, ISO 9000/14000/22000, BRC, IFS, Label Rouge, NS 9415 and HACCP. These standards are applied where appropriate, for example:

• Fish farming is covered by GLOBALG.A.P. and ASC certificates

• All the Group’s production plants have BRC certification

• The sales department at the Bergen headquarters is certified in accordance with ISO 9001 and the “chain of custody” for ASC, MSC and GLOBALG.A.P.

• All fish-farming production equipment is certified in accordance with the NS 9415 standard for floating fish-farming installations.

GLOBALG.A.P. (Good Agricultural Practice) – Voluntary standard for the certification of agricultural products

MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) – Sustainability standard for fish caught in the wild

ASC (Aqua Stewardship Council) – Sustainability standard for farmed fish

ISO 9000 – Standard for quality management system

ISO 14000 – Standard for environmental management system

ISO 22000 – Food safety standard

BRC (British Retail Consortium) – Quality standard with focus on food safety

IFS (International Featured Standard) – Quality and food safety standards

Label Rouge – Quality assurance in France

NS 9415 – Norwegian standard for floating fish-farming installations

HACCP (Hazard Analytical Critical Control Point) – Risk analysis principles

GLOBALG.A.P. (GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE)

Global GAP is a standard for environmental conditions covering the Group’s production activities and the employees’ working environment. The standard covers the production process from roe stage to fish slaughter.

Focus areas within GLOBALG.A.P.:

• Food safety: The standard is based on food safety criteria developed from the generic HACCP* principles.

• Environment: The standard has two parts, one for environmental protection and one for good aquaculture practice to minimise the negative environmental impact of aquaculture.

• Employees’ health, safety and welfare: The standard sets global criteria for workers’ health and safety in the production facilities, and contains guidelines for social issues.

• Fish welfare: The standard sets out global criteria for fish welfare in production facilities.

• HACCP (Hazard Analytical Critical Control Point): Risk analysis containing critical control points.

ASC (AQUA STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL)

The ASC is a certification and labelling programme for responsibly farmed seafood. The ASC has various standards compiled for fish farming, while the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) compiles standards for fish caught in the wild. To date, the ASC has compiled eight standards, covering 12 species, all based on the same principles:

• Comprehensive legal compliance

• Conservation of natural habitat and biodiversity

• Conservation of water resources

• Conservation of species diversity and wild population through prevention of escapes

• Use of feed and other inputs that are sourced responsibly

• Good animal health (no unnecessary use of antibiotics and chemicals)

• Social responsibility for workers and communities impacted by farming

FIRST ASC CERTIFICATION

Lerøy Seafood Group has been involved in the development of the ASC standard since 2004 and was the first company in the world to offer the market salmon produced according to the new ASC environmental standard. The first three facilities in the world to gain certification according to this standard are all connected to Lerøy.

No. 1 Jarfjord - Villa Organic

No. 2 Hogsneset Nord - Lerøy Midt

No. 3 Årøya - Lerøy Aurora

The goal is to gain ASC certification for all our fish-farming facilities. By the end of 2014, all fish sold by Lerøy Aurora had ASC certification. Furthermore, Lerøy has achieved ASC "chain of custody" for its sales, distribution and value-added processing chain, and is now able to offer the Japanese, American and European markets a variety of ASC-certified salmon products.