Brakes, has become the first food service supplier to introduce Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified prawns in the UK.
Launched at the end of March, Brakes’ new ASC certified warm water prawns (F114100 M&J Seafood ASC King Prawns, 1kg nett (31-40/lb)) are the latest addition to its industry leading range of sustainably sourced seafood.
Andrew Crawford, fish & seafood category manager for Brakes, explained how the food service provider is looking to grow its range of ASC certified products, starting with the new warm water prawns.
“We want to be seen as market leaders in the provision of sustainably and responsibly sourced fish and seafood, driving the foodservice market in the right direction and the introduction of ASC certified products into our product range will help us to do this,” he said.
In May 2015 Brakes became the first national wholesale food service supplier to sign the Sustainable Fish City pledge, committing to source fish and seafood only from demonstrably sustainable and responsible sources for its general sale range by May 2016.
As a further extension of its commitment to protect the marine environment, Brakes has also added three lines of ASC certified pangasius Basa to its product offerings this month.
Mr Crawford said: “We are gradually tailoring our range to fulfil our commitment and the new ASC certified shrimp and pangasius will help in this process. We have a long history of sustainable fish and seafood initiatives and accomplishments, and looking at our farmed range is the next logical step.”
Pubs, schools and others food service providers that source ASC certified products from Brakes can now apply for an ASC Chain of Custody Certification to allow them to use the consumer facing logo.
The ASC certified prawns are sourced from the Vietnamese shrimp farm, Quoc Viet. The family run business was the first Asian shrimp farm to gain ASC certification following independent assessment against the ASC Shrimp Standard.
