More than one million people in the UK will be offered Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fish in workplace restaurants, schools, hospitals and defence sites, thanks to foodservice provider Sodexo.
In a world-first, Sodexo has had all of its UK restaurants and cafés certified to serve MSC certified sustainable fish. MSC fish will be available in around a thousand sites ranging from Manchester Royal Infirmary, the Co-operative and Eton College to primary schools in Wiltshire, Colchester Garrison, Blenheim Palace and Chelsea Flower Show.
Hannah Arcaro, UK foodservice manager at the MSC said: “Serving MSC certified sustainable fish at nearly a thousand sites will introduce a huge cross-section of British consumers to the issues around overfishing and how they can be part of the solution. By helping to reward the certified fisheries around the world, who have proven that they are fishing sustainably, Sodexo and its customers will be helping to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis.”
Michelle Hanson, commercial director, Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: "This is a landmark achievement for us. MSC certification of our restaurants and cafés was an ambitious target that we set ourselves as part of the Better Tomorrow Plan, our sustainability strategy to 2020.
"Like most people, we were alarmed to hear about declining fish stocks. Through MSC certification, we believe we are making a real difference in helping to protect the world's fish stocks.
"Traceability of our fish from boat to plate has always been very important to us. With the MSC Chain of Custody certification, we have complete assurance that every step of the supply chain has been certified to ensure that we know that every piece of MSC fish that we serve comes from a well managed fishery.
"We are passionate about sustainable sourcing at Sodexo and have really engaged with our staff and customers at each of our sites with training initiatives and promotional material to get everyone working together to support sustainable fishing."
Facts and figures
- Sodexo is one of the world’s largest food and facilities management services providers.
- Sodexo serves 123 tonnes of wild-caught MSC fish per year.
- Sodexo’s UK MSC fish on offer at sites includes mackerel, herring, Dover sole and sardines and international MSC fish includes hake, salmon, hoki, pollock and prawns.
- Sodexo was the first foodservice company to achieve MSC certification across all of its education sites in 2009.
- Sodexo serves fish at over 375 schools and universities, 54 hospitals, 150 defence sites and 350 company restaurants, visitor attractions and national events.
