In January 2009 the number of seafood products around the world carrying the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ecolabel reached 2,000 and is continuing to grow rapidly.
The 2,000th MSC product, which is about to hit supermarket shelves in France, is a 500g box of scallops from the Patagonian scallop fishery. It is part of Carrefour's Eco-Planète range and will be sold at their supermarkets and hypermarkets right across France. Certified in 2006, the Patagonian scallop fishery has been very successful in marketing its MSC-labelled products across Europe, with product sold in the UK and The Netherlands.
The 2,000th product comes at a time of unprecedented growth that demonstrates the extraordinary support from both fisheries and the seafood supply chain around the world: it took seven years to get from the first MSC labelled product to the 500th, just nine months to reach the 1,000th and the 2,000th MSC labelled product was reached just 12 months after that.
Carrefour launched its first MSC product in February 2008 and now offers 18 products under Carrefour's own brands in the refrigerated and frozen sections of their stores. Pierre Bareille, Carrefour Controlled Products Manager, said: "For Carrefour, it is important to offer its customers seafood products that are selected for their excellent environmental credentials in protecting fishery resources. We are committed to this path and are planning to widen our MSC range in 2009.”
