Bellevue, Washington, U.S.A.-based fishing company Tri Marine Group has received the BRCGS Agents and Brokers certification, which is awarded to companies that ensure their supply chains adhere to rigorous food safety standards.
Luciano Pirovano, the global sustainable development director at Bolton Food, an Italian multinational consumer food product manufacturer and the owner of Tri Marine, accepted the credential on behalf of the company from Oslo, Norway-headquartered risk management and assurance certification body DNV at a ceremony during the 2024 Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain.
“This is an example of Tri Marine’s commitment to food safety and sustainability,” Pirovano said. “It is the culmination of many, many years of dedication on the part of Tri Marine toward these initiatives.”
Tri Marine is primarily a supplier of yellowfin, skipjack, and albacore tuna products, such as loins and cans. The company has been supplying Bolton with tuna for over 25 years – long before Bolton’s acquisition of Tri Marine in 2019 and both companies’ complete integration, which was finalized this year.
“It’s a gradual process, but it’s going well,” Pirovano said of the integration process. “I’m a lucky man that these two big players joined forces in this kind of vertical integration. We needed to be transformative now. There is no time to have long-term goals; We need to make an impact tomorrow morning. One of the best ways to do that is to be fully vertically integrated.”
That urgency, according to Pirovano, is necessary because of the challenges the industry is currently facing, such as price increases and climate change. Despite the obstacles, he said there is no better time than now to pursue certifications like the BRCGS credential Tri Marine just attained.
“The credibility is crucial,” he said. “From consumer research, we know that two-thirds of customers don’t trust companies’ self-statements about sustainability. That makes it very important to have external certifications from a credible, reputed certification body.”
This is not the first time DNV has certified Tri Marine.
In 2022, the company received two International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications from the Norwegian firm, which focused on traceability and quality management systems, respectively.
Besides certifications, the company also places a heavy focus on partnerships, such as the one it has with the World Wildlife Fund. All of its sourcing also now comes from Marine Stewardship Council-certified fisheries or those under credible and comprehensive fishery improvement projects, which placed the company ahead of its own internal goals, according to Pirovano.
“We want to be the best tuna company in the world,” he said. “We want to lead by example and influence the sector because we are among the big players. We believe it’s our responsibility to be as credible as possible.”
