Nutraceutical Products
Faced with consumers’ concerns, environmental sustainability has become a relevant issue for the Omega-3 industry.
Friend of the Sea is the leading international standard for producers of fish oil, fish meal and Omega-3 supplements.
Friend of the Sea Omega-3 producers verify their suppliers are listed as approved and therefore implement sustainable fisheries practices. This way they can provide a third-party assurance to consumers worldwide.
USA, Scandinavia, Central Europe and Australia are the markets with the highest presence of Friend of the Sea labelled Omega-3 supplements. Antarctic krill, menhaden and the Peruvian anchovies’ fisheries and fleets are approved according to Friend of the Sea sustainability requirements.
The Standard
Friend of the Sea criteria for sustainable nutraceutical products require:
- well managed sources of fish oil and fishmeal ingredients;
- traceability;
- no GMO;
- social accountability.
Technical Documents
Sustainable UV-cream
Not all sun blocks are friends of the sea. According to both U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and EU regulation, sunscreens marked as “water-resistant” can lost 50% of their sun protection factor after 40 minutes water bathing.
Recent studies have shown Benzophenone-3 (BP-3; Oxybenzone), an ingredient in sunscreen lotions and personal-care products that protects against the damaging effects of ultraviolet light, contributes to coral bleaching and reefs deformation, as it effects DNA and disrupts corals reproduction and growth. According to these studies, even small doses of Oxybenzone – about a drop in six-and-a-half Olympic swimming pools – damages coral.
In order to minimize the impact of sunscreens on the marine environment, Friend of the Sea has decided to award as Friend of the Sea certified those sunscreen products releasing less than 5% of their chemicals to the water after 80 minutes and thus validating the producers’ long-term commitment towards environmental sustainability.
The Standard
Friend of the Sea criteria for sustainable UV-creams require:
- releasing less than 5% of their chemicals to the water after 80 minutes;
- absence of chemicals that damage corals and marine life;
- evidence of testing from independent laboratories.
(*) will be available for download soon.
- All information will be kept strictly confidential and implies NO commitment on your company’s part.
- Friend of the Sea's certification is voluntary and NOT mandatory to gain access to markets.
- The application process is NOT discriminatory on size, scale, management and minimum number of operators.
- Friend of the Sea is a NGO and it strives to make participation in the audits affordable for all companies.
- Please contact us for more information on Government funding which might be available in your Country for sustainability certifications: info@friendofthesea.org
