On July 30th we met with the Seafood Industry Leadership Group (SILG) to discuss GDST 1.0 and the critical importance of traceability in seafood supply chains. SILG is a government-industry entity that represents all English seafood sectors and is supporting the strategic framework of Seafood 2040 (SF2040) for England. Seafood 2040 was first developed in October 2015 by a Task Force representing all sectors of the seafood industry in England. Their goal was to explore the challenges facing the English industry and shape a long-term ambition to realize the full potential of the industry by 2040.
This conversation was led by David Schorr from The GDST and Ally Dingwall from Sainsbury’s, who is also a GDST Steering Committee member. SILG companies present at the meeting also included Hilton Seafood UK and Youngs Seafood, both of which are leaders in the early adoption of GDST 1.0.
The discussion with SILG was very lively, making clear that the GDST standards intersect well with core issues on the SILG agenda. It was especially interesting to note that the discussion identified areas of both private sector action and emerging government policy where GDST standards may be able to play a relevant and positive role.
GDST was grateful for the opportunity to open a conversation with a wide audience of English companies involved in seafood, and to explore how the GDST and Seafood 2040 can collaborate in support of strong seafood traceability. We look forward to continuing this and similar conversations with leading seafood industry groups.
The GDST Secretariat is available for GDST support and briefings, so please reach out if that would be of interest to your industry group or company – info@traceability-dialogue.org.