The MSC Chain of Custody Standard is the seafood traceability and product integrity standard developed by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to ensure that seafood sold with the blue MSC ecolabel can be traced back to a certified sustainable fishery. Introduced in 2000 and regularly revised since then, the standard applies to companies throughout the seafood supply chain, including processors, distributors, traders, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, and other businesses handling certified seafood products.

The Chain of Custody Standard acts as the backbone linking MSC-certified fisheries to products carrying the MSC label. Every company taking legal ownership of certified seafood products along the supply chain must hold a valid Chain of Custody certificate for products to carry the label.

The standard was developed to address the complexity of global seafood supply chains, where products may pass through multiple companies, facilities, and countries before reaching consumers. Its purpose is to prevent certified seafood from being mixed with non-certified products and to maintain confidence in the integrity, traceability, and authenticity of seafood carrying the MSC label.

Certification is conducted by accredited independent third-party certification bodies rather than by the MSC itself. Certified businesses are audited regularly to verify continued compliance with the standard, while the program also includes product sampling, traceability checks, and investigations intended to confirm that products are correctly labeled and linked to certified fisheries.

The Chain of Custody Standard is based on five core principles:

• Purchasing from certified suppliers
• Identifiable certified products
• Separation of certified and non-certified seafood
• Traceable and recorded product movement
• Effective management systems

The standard also includes requirements covering staff training, recordkeeping, subcontractor controls, management procedures, reporting obligations, and handling of non-conforming products. Different versions of the standard have been developed for different business models, including Default, Group, and Consumer Facing Organisation (CFO) variants.

Recent updates also introduced labor-related eligibility requirements intended to strengthen supply-chain integrity. These include Labour Self-Assessment requirements and exclusion criteria for entities convicted of forced or child labor offenses.

More than 51,000 supply chain sites worldwide are certified to handle MSC-certified seafood products, while more than 20,000 products carrying the blue MSC label are sold across dozens of countries. The standard also supports certification systems operated jointly with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), including alignment work between MSC and ASC chain of custody requirements.

Recent revisions and review projects show the standard is evolving beyond traditional traceability controls toward a broader assurance and supply-chain integrity system. Current review work focuses on improving accessibility, strengthening anti-fraud protections, supporting compliance with emerging traceability legislation, simplifying audit processes, and improving consistency between different certification models.

MSC is also expanding the use of digital systems and risk-based tools within the program. Ongoing projects include development of digital audit platforms, enhanced traceability systems, remote auditing approaches, and additional mechanisms intended to help certificate holders identify and reduce food fraud risks. Proposed revisions would also introduce stronger requirements related to traceability data access and internal traceability verification exercises.

The review and revision process for the standard is highly stakeholder-driven and includes participation from seafood companies, retailers, certification bodies, fisheries, governments, NGOs, and overlapping certification systems. MSC periodically publishes consultation documents, draft revisions, and implementation reviews, while updated versions of the standard are tested through pilot studies, mock audits, and public consultation processes before formal approval.

The Chain of Custody Standard works together with the MSC Fisheries Standard, which determines whether fisheries themselves meet sustainability requirements. Together, the two standards form the basis of the MSC certification, traceability, and ecolabeling system.

For more information, please visit the standard's page on the official website.