WASHINGTON — The National Fisheries Institute here has launched the Better Seafood Bureau, an independent body that establishes accountability for lawful business practices, to ensure that restaurateurs and retailers have a means of recognizing seafood suppliers who uphold high standards for business operations. The BSB will retain a call center to accept comments from buyers in the seafood value chain about any unresolved concerns regarding transshipment, mislabeling and short-weighting of seafood. Once it is confirmed that the caller attempted to resolve the matter directly with the supplier involved, the BSB will examine the comment and determine when a situation with a particular company requires further investigation. Companies with three unresolved customer complaints will be required to go through a third-party audit of their processes. Suppliers that fail this audit will lose their NFI membership. The BSB will begin receiving calls in August 2007, and the phone number for the call center will be released at that time. “It is important for retailers and restaurateurs to know that NFI members are providing buyers with the products they expect and deserve,” said John Connelly, NFI president, in a company release. “Beginning this year, NFI’s senior company officers signed commitment forms pledging that their products are not transshipped to avoid duties, mislabeled for species, or mislabeled for weight or counts. The BSB will ensure this pledge is enforced and that NFI members are recognized for conducting their businesses honestly and with respect to their supply chain partners.”
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