IFFO – The Marine Ingredients Organisation has focused on blue food and the role of marine ingredients to promote food security. The IFFO Members' Meeting held in Miami from 4th to 6th April 2022 was based in this subject.
The meeting included presentations from across the value chain, covering the latest market trends, technical developments and industry wide discussions. This was the first meeting celebrated since the start of the pandemic.
Firstly, IFFO's President Gonzalo de Romaña located the organisation "as the uniting platform that coordinates the value chain with a role in the food production system. Through engagement with international organisations such as the United Nations' FAO and the World Economic Forum".
In addition to this, Petter Martin Johannessen, IFFO's Director General, warned that "with a deficit in feed ingredients of 30-40 million tons to meet FAO's goal of fed aquaculture production in 2030, the focus needs to be on how the sustainable ingredients available can be utilized in the most efficient way to meet the need for healthy proteins in the future. Nutrition rather than calories should be the core focus" .
Besides, IFFO's key area of focus is the Life Cycle Assessment. With this the aim is to compare the full range of environmental effects assignable to products and services. The way is quantifying all inputs and outputs of material flows and assessing how these material flows affect the environment. Further, this work support producers in establishing the right processes. It also allows to benchmark and make meaningful comparisons.
Finally, IFFO's partner Sustainable Fisheries Partnership highlighted the need to address current and upcoming challenges. Along with the Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients being an example of how pre-competitive platforms can drive dialogue and action.
IFFO is an international trade organisation that represents the marine ingredients industry, such as fishmeal, fish oil and other related industries. Marine ingredients are nutritious products used mainly for aquafeed, land animal feed as well as for human consumption and are derived from marine organisms such as fish, krill, shellfish and algae. IFFO's members reside in more than 50 countries, account for over 55% of world production and 75% of the fishmeal and fish oil traded worldwide. IFFO is an accredited Observer to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
