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Only sustainable seafood on our plate
7
June
2019
More than just delicious. These are the fish and seafood that you will find in the ranges available in our store formulas. They are also fished or farmed responsibly, with respect for people and the environment. We work with independent researchers to ensure and strengthen the sustainability of our products. This is a complex process that we started in 2012. And now we're reaching an important milestone.
What is sustainable seafood?
Marine biodiversity is a resource that we must protect. That is why we choose not to sell overfished or endangered fish species. The fish farms that supply us are committed to preserving ecosystems and using sustainable fish feed, as well as other measures. The use of antibiotics is strictly controlled, limited to emergencies and in some cases even prohibited. More and more fisheries are applying sustainable rules, spurred on by our commitment.
Making positive choices for the environment
Our shelves contain the largest number of certified or verified seafood products in Belgium. In the wild fish category, we now only offer sustainable products in our own-brand ranges Boni Selection, Everyday, Spar, OKay and Culino. In the farmed shellfish category, 96% has already been certified or verified. In the other categories, we are also making progress, depending on the speed with which new research methods and certificates can be developed.
Continuously striving for higher quality
By progressively and carefully certifying or verifying the range of seafood products in this way, we are able to identify seafood products that do not meet the quality and sustainability required by our customers. That’s when we take them off the shelves. “The demand for responsible and transparent products continues to grow," says Philippe Toussaint, manager sustainable sourcing at Colruyt Group. "That's why certificates are so important. For our customers, the independent certificate labels are reliable ways to identify sustainably-sourced seafood."
Recognisable certificates
There are various labels and research techniques for sustainable fish. The MSC label applies to wild seafood. MSC can certify some 88.8% of that offering. For the remaining 11.2% we have, together with the research institute ILVO developed a method to give each fish species a sustainability score. For canned tuna, we are developing a control system (TUPA) together with European partners. We are a member of ISSF, an international foundation that investigates tuna fishing. And 85.3% of the farmed fish and seafood in our range carry the ASC label or the organic label. In this way, we can make our entire range more sustainable step-by-step.
With this initiative, we contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
