Coles makes wave of change in sustainable seafood

Coles have created a wave of change becoming the first major supermarket in Australia to offer its customers certified sustainable and traceable seafood in their delis. Australian seafood lovers can now buy Aquaculture Stewardship Council, (ASC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ecolabelled seafood in the deli at their local Coles supermarket.

Across the country Coles’ fresh salmon will be ASC certified as responsibly farmed and their Queensland wild-caught prawns will be MSC certified as sustainably caught.

MSC Asia Pacific Director Patrick Caleo is extremely pleased with Coles’ leadership and pioneering move into sustainable seafood.

“Coles is the first major supermarket in Australia to offer, certified sustainable seafood at their deli counters.  Not only are Coles’ providing Australians with certified sustainable seafood options, they’ve done an enormous amount of work through the supply chain to ensure their seafood is traceable from ocean all the way to the deli counter. As Aussies love our seafood and want to safeguard our oceans for generations to come, choosing certified sustainable seafood from Coles is an easy and delicious way to contribute to the health of the ocean. ”

Chris Ninnes, ASC’s CEO, said: “As one of Australia’s largest retailers, Coles is leading the way with responsibly farmed seafood sourcing in Australia. By offering ASC certified and labelled salmon in their delis, Coles’ customers don’t have to worry about where their fish comes from and can enjoy their salmon knowing that it is sourced from a farm that treats the environment with care and respect. All they need to do is look for the ASC logo.”

Coles now offers customers sustainably caught or responsibly farmed Coles Brand seafood. This month Coles launches its seafood campaign highlighting its range of Coles Brand responsibly sourced seafood to help its customers make better choices to protect the oceans, environment and local communities.

Charlotte Rhodes, Coles General Manager Deli and Seafood said Coles’ responsible sourcing program is providing greater transparency, traceability and labelling making it easier for customers to choose sustainable seafood.

“With more customers looking for responsibly sourced seafood and keen to know where their food comes from, Coles is proud to ensure our Coles Brand seafood is responsibly sourced and introduce MSC and ASC certified products in our Delis.”

“Coles’ sourcing program means seafood lovers can now be confident when buying from our Coles Brand seafood range that it is responsibly sourced which gives them the choice to help make a difference for the environment and contribute towards a more sustainable future.”

Protecting our future through credible and independent seafood certification

“Seafood is the most consumed animal protein in the world, and the most traded food commodity, with one in 10 people in the world depending on fishing for their livelihood, by choosing certified sustainable and responsible seafood you’re helping to create a positive impact in our oceans,” said Mr Caleo.

About a billion people rely on seafood as a fundamental part of their diet. With more than half of the fish consumed globally coming from fish farming it’s important to recognise and reward farms that operate responsibly with minimal impact on the environment through the work of programs like the ASC.

ASC and MSC certification rewards seafood producers who operate sustainable fisheries or responsibly managed farms. The programs provide credible, independent third-party validation for practices which reduce impacts on the marine environment, protect local surroundings and wildlife, and support local communities. MSC and ASC standards were developed in line with ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice, meeting the requirements for inclusive and transparent standard setting.  The MSC also offers the only wild capture seafood certification and ecolabelling program consistent with the UN FAO  Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing and Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries.

Coles ASC certified salmon comes from Tassal, which earned ASC certification across all of its sites in November 2014. Tassal was the first salmon farm in Australia to achieve this certification.

Traceability assurance

All ASC and MSC labelled seafood can be traced back through the supply chain to a responsibly managed fish farm or certified sustainable fishery. In order to achieve chain of custody certification each company in the supply chain must meet strict requirements, be completely transparent and have in place traceability systems that ensure no product mixing or substitutions can occur.

MSC certified fisheries and ASC certified farms must complete annual surveillance audits to ensure that they continue to operate at the high standards required to remain certified. MSC certified fisheries are reassessed every 5 years and ASC certified farms every 3 years.

More than 570 improvements to fishing practices and environmental management have been identified with fisheries in the MSC program.