UCSL is pleased to share with you that the MSC General Certification Requirements and Chain of Custody (CoC) Program Documents have been updated and released on 15 May 2023
16 May 2023
A summary of changes and list of the updated Program Documents can be found below. All documents are on the MSC website.
CoC Standards are effective from 30 May 2023:
The CoC Standards (Default, Group and CFO versions) have a 2-week implementation timeframe upon their release, as there are no new requirements introduced. The revisions were purely editorial to ensure our Standard is correctly applied. Application before 30 May 2023 remains option
Please note that from 30 May 2023 audits of the MSC CoC Program will be carried out according to the criteria of the updated documents as indicated earlier.
ASC CoC Module
In addition, ASC released ASC CoC Module v1.1 on 15 May 2023, in alignment with the MSC and includes a one-year initial implementation extension (a "grace period") for processing and/or packing companies to achieve certification against a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognised scheme or ISO 22000.
The ASC CoC Module becomes effective and mandatory from 30 May 2023. It includes new requirements for ASC CoC certification in addition to the MSC CoC Program Documents.
More information can be found in the ASC press release and on the ASC CoC webpage. Alternatively, you can contact assurance@asc-aqua.org.
Thank you for your attention,
UCSL team
- (Relevant to Fishery & CoC) MSC General Certification Requirements v2.6 (Effective date: 1 Nov 2023)
- Relevant to Fishery & CoC) MSC-MSCI Vocabulary v1.5 (Effective date: 15 May 2023)
- MSC Chain of Custody Standard: Default version v5.1 (Effective date: 30 May 2023)
- MSC Chain of Custody Standard: Group version v2.1 (Effective date: 30 May 2023)
- MSC Chain of Custody Standard: Consumer-Facing Organisation version v2.1 (Effective date: 30 May 2023)
- MSC Chain of Custody Certification Requirements v3.2 (Effective date: 1 Nov 2023)
- MSC Seafood Sampling Procedure v1.2 (Effective date: 1 Nov 2023)
CoC Standards are effective from 30 May 2023:
The CoC Standards (Default, Group and CFO versions) have a 2-week implementation timeframe upon their release, as there are no new requirements introduced. The revisions were purely editorial to ensure our Standard is correctly applied. Application before 30 May 2023 remains option
Please note that from 30 May 2023 audits of the MSC CoC Program will be carried out according to the criteria of the updated documents as indicated earlier.
ASC CoC Module
In addition, ASC released ASC CoC Module v1.1 on 15 May 2023, in alignment with the MSC and includes a one-year initial implementation extension (a "grace period") for processing and/or packing companies to achieve certification against a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognised scheme or ISO 22000.
The ASC CoC Module becomes effective and mandatory from 30 May 2023. It includes new requirements for ASC CoC certification in addition to the MSC CoC Program Documents.
More information can be found in the ASC press release and on the ASC CoC webpage. Alternatively, you can contact assurance@asc-aqua.org.
Thank you for your attention,
UCSL team