Sainsbury’s has announced that 100 per cent of the canned skipjack tuna sourced from the Maldives and canned under Sainsbury’s own label will now be MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certified.
This is a significant step forward in protecting the world’s tuna stocks and is the result of four years’ work by the Sainsbury’s fish sourcing team.
Sainsbury’s will be the first supermarket to offer own label canned skipjack tuna that is MSC certified. The MSC certified skipjack tuna will be introduced into Sainsbury’s stores from April 2013 and will sit alongside canned Albacore tuna that is already MSC certified.
All of Sainsbury’s own label tuna, including fresh, canned and when as an ingredient, is all pole and line caught and Sainsbury’s currently tops the Greenpeace league for responsible sourcing of tinned tuna.
Sainsbury’s currently carries 18 different lines of own brand skipjack tuna, 12 of which are 100 per cent sourced from the Maldives. 3 further lines are jointly sourced from the Maldives and Indonesia.
The Maldivian tuna incorporated within these 15 lines amounts to more than 60 per cent of Sainsbury’s own label tinned tuna. This move comes in the wake of the launch of the ‘Our future with fish’ report, commissioned by Sainsbury’s and produced by the Future Foundation, a major new study into fish consumption and attitudes in the UK which showed a marked shift in consumer buying habits as more and more people become responsible in their choices around sustainable fish.
“At Sainsbury’s we recognise the important role retailers have to play to continue the debate and interest in sustainable fish choices” said Ally Dingwall, Sainsbury’s Aquaculture and Fisheries manager.
“Tinned tuna remains a perennially popular family choice, as it is a really versatile ingredient and a great store cupboard source of healthy protein. We know our customers are as interested in our values as well as the value that we provide and that is why we strive to ensure to ensure that we offer as great a level of sustainability as possible in our everyday basket items.“
