ASC CHINA MAKES A SPLASH IN SHANGHAI

ASC China makes a splash in Shanghai. No country in the world eats more seafood, or farms more seafood, than China. This makes the work of ASC’s dedicated team in the country absolutely vital, and they have been keeping themselves very busy recently celebrating the rapid expansion of responsible farming about Chinese farmers.

A recent event highlight this important work. In November ASC was well represented at the 25^th Shanghai Global Food Trade Show (FHC), the country’s leading seafood industry event.

In China as everywhere else, this is a time of uncertainties for the seafood industry. A time for collaborating to share best practices, celebrate successes and promote the benefits of responsible seafood. This was exactly the thinking behind ASC’s presence at the FHC.

Creative Cooking

ASC China teamed up with eight certified partners to form the ASC Responsible Seafood Joint Exhibition Group. The exhibition involved partners demonstrating their responsible practices and their delicious products via interactive and engaging events such as the FHC Chinese and Western Food Creative Cooking Show. This was a chance to show off just how versatile and enjoyable responsibly farmed seafood can be, with dishes such as seafood risotto and fried oyster setting mouths watering throughout the exhibition hall.

This was down to the talents of the chefs involved, but they certainly had a lot of options to work with: ASC’s certified partners at the show produce species including scallops, white-legged shrimp, salmon, manila clams, pacific oysters, disk abalone and tilapia.

Sharing success stories

That wasn’t the end of ASC’s collaborative work at the FHC, though. ASC also jointly held the 2021 Sustainable Seafood Development Summit Forum at the exhibition. The forum was intended to show off the benefits of responsible farming and help promote those produces that have put the work into achieving ASC certification. It was hosted with China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA), WWF China, and Qingdao Marine Conservation Society (QMCS), and had more than 200 live and online viewers in attendance.

It was also a chance to share success stories, and crucial expertise. Beisiling, a seafood distributor introduced and explained to attendees the increasingly diversified seafood market in China, and also analysed the growing opportunities and value of sustainable and traceable seafood in the country.

A different experience was provided by Mengzhu-love, the first maternal and infant food franchised enterprises to promote ASC certified shrimp products in China. They shared their insights into sustainable seafood in the maternal and infant market, as well as their enthusiasm for promoting responsible ASC seafood to young parents in China.

Finally, it wouldn’t be an exhibition without some awards, and ASC China held its annual awards ceremony at FHC. Qing Fang, General Manager of ASC China, said: “This was another chance to share and reward our partners. It’s not about self-congratulations, though: by recognising and rewarding those organisations that are working the hardest to promote responsible seafood, we can encourage others to follow suit.

“This is one of the foundational principles of the ASC programme, and awards like these are a key part of thanking partners for the work they are doing for their communities and the environment.”

2021 ASC Annual Awards Ceremony at FHC

Outstanding Partner Award for China’s Online Seafood Market – Shandong Lighthouse Jellyfish Marine Technology Co. LTD, for their ASC certified oyster becoming the top value brand in China’s online market.

Outstanding Partner award for Chinese Retail Seafood Market – Huitaibohai Seafood Co.ltd, for their efforts to support Ole and Ikea China’s ASC seafood supply chain and consumer promotion.

Offshore Marine Ecological Aquaculture Pioneer Enterprise Award – Shandong Nanhuangcheng Marine Technology Co. LTD, as the first pilot enterprise to develop the management system and technical indicators of their offshore-equipped aquaculture platform using ASC standards as technical requirements.

Best Partner Award for Maternal and Infant Seafood – Megzhu-love, as the first maternal and infant food franchised enterprise to promote ASC certified seafood to the young generation’s parents in this fast growing market

Honourable Promotion Award – Sustainable Supply Chain Choice – Two new local processing plants, which promise to establish a professional seafood supply chain based on ASC certified seafood for the Chinese market.