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| 26/04/2010 |
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| Findus Group boosts 'Fish for Life' programme with new MSC goal |
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As part of its long-term ‘Fish for Life’ commitment to sustainable seafood, the Findus Group has today announced its ambition to buy all the wild-caught fish for its Young’s and Findus retail brands across Europe from fisheries independently certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard by 2012.
In applying its ‘Fish for Life’ approach, the Findus Group already buys all its own wild caught fish through a rigorous assessment process that applies its ‘Ten Principles for Responsible Fish Procurement.’ However the Findus Group also supports independent certification schemes, such as the MSC, as it believes these are a key route to the worldwide application of scientifically-endorsed sustainability standards.
If the Findus Group succeeds in moving all its Young’s and Findus wild caught fish to MSC certified material, it is estimated that it could result in an additional 50 million branded retail packs carrying the MSC logo in Europe per year.
Chris Britton, Findus Group CEO, said:
“As one of Europe’s leading food companies it is right that Findus Group plays its part to help ensure a sustainable seafood industry, which is why we have consistently supported the MSC for more than a decade and it is now established as the key global certification for wild caught fish. Whilst open to the possibility of using other equivalent schemes in the future, we recognise that MSC is currently the only international consumer-facing label for sustainable seafood and now has sufficient scale that it is realistic for us to strengthen our own brands by using it for all our wild caught purchases.”
“Our 2012 MSC ambition is an important component of our sustainability agenda. By raising the bar on this issue we hope to provide added stimulus for those fisheries not yet pursuing independent sustainability certification to go down this route.”
“We know that some fisheries face a tough challenge in driving for the MSC standard, particularly in dealing with issues such as traceability and information management. However, our Fish for Life vision drives us to engage actively with suppliers and we will use our experience and our infrastructure to support individual fisheries as they work towards the MSC goal.”
“This move will require considerable investment but we believe a stronger commitment to the MSC is a natural next step for our Fish for Life programme.”
Rupert Howes, MSC Chief Executive commented:
“As one of Europe’s largest frozen food brands, the Findus Group’s decision today to deepen its commitment to the MSC programme is very important for the seafood market and the future of the world’s oceans and fisheries. The decision will lead the way to a significant increase in products bearing the MSC ecolabel across Europe, offering consumers more sustainable seafood choices. It will encourage wider participation from fisheries, catalysing further improvements in the way the oceans are fished, and effect further transformations in the seafood supply chain around the world.
“The support from the Findus Group over the last ten years has been a critical factor in the establishment of a market for certified sustainable seafood and we look forward to working closely with them and their partners to achieve their target.”
The Fish for Life programme also covers the sourcing of farmed fish which are of increasing importance to the Findus Group seafood portfolio. The Findus Group is actively working with bodies such as the GAA, GlobalGap and WWF in the development of credible standards for a number of farmed species and endorses progress towards a consumer facing sustainability marque for farmed fish through the establishment of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
Notes to editors
The 2012 target
Supplementing its own Fish for Life programme, the Findus Group would now like all the wild caught fish used in its Young’s and Findus brands to be MSC certified. After extensive review and research, the Findus Group considers that the ambition to reach the MSC target in three years is credible if challenging, particularly since 92% of our supply fisheries have either already achieved certification or are engaged in the MSC process. The Findus Group is working closely with its suppliers around the world to help them achieve success in the MSC process.
Fish for Life
Fish for Life was formally launched in 2006 by Young’s Seafood in the UK and has now been adopted across the Findus Group. It is widely recognised as one of the leading business improvement programmes of its type and has won a number of awards, most recently (March 2010) being the UK stage winner of the European Business Commitment to the Environment Awards.
Fish for Life is in essence a guarantee to consumers that all the fish (wild and farmed) supplied in the Young’s and Findus brands has been sourced according to rigorous audit and the Findus Group’s ‘Ten Principles for Responsible Fish Procurement.’
Fish for Life has always supported and endorsed independent sustainability certification schemes (such as MSC for wild caught fish and the developing Aquaculture Stewardship Council scheme for farmed) but also represents and reflects the Findus Group’s broader commitment to actively contribute to long term improvement – such as by funding research, engaging with industry and lobbying governments to implement better legislation.
Why MSC?
Although Fish for Life already delivers sustainable sea food, we believe it is important to support the MSC as part of the broader goals and aspirations of Fish for Life. Also since the MSC logo is recognised worldwide as a consumer facing representation of sustainably sourced fish it adds further to our brand value as a responsible supplier.
We are open to the possibility that new independent certification schemes may be developed and are happy to adopt other standards if these are deemed effective. However, at present we accept the MSC as the international “gold standard” for certifying the sustainability of wild fisheries because:
- It is currently the only international scheme that operates within guidelines set by the FAO (Food & Agriculture Organisation of the UN) and benchmarks against the FAO Code of Conduct for responsible fisheries.
- It requires fisheries to demonstrate and certify traceability.
- It operates a process of proper engagement and interaction with fisheries, including making annual review and recommendations for corrective change
- The MSC and its logo have so far achieved the best international visibility in terms of marketing sustainably sourced seafood to consumers
Through its Young’s and Findus brands, and as part of its Fish for Life programme, the Findus Group has been an active supporter of the MSC programme since 1998 and has been first to market with many MSC species. Findus is already number one in MSC fish in France and Sweden and currently purchases from 16 fisheries that have been MSC certified – more than any other food manufacturer in Europe. In the UK the Findus Group is already a lead buyer through its Young’s brand and in 2009 was the first seafood processor in Europe to actively sponsor a new fishery to achieve MSC certification with Western Isles Langoustine in the Hebrides (Scotland).
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