The Marine Stewardship Council has announced that all McDonald’s fish products throughout Europe, including its popular Filet-o-Fish sandwiches, will soon be MSC-certified and carry the MSC logo from October 2011.
The news comes as 7,000 McDonald’s restaurants across 39 European countries achieve certification to the MSC Chain of Custody traceability standard, as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to enhance its sustainable sourcing practices.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, over 50 per cent of the world’s marine fish stocks are fully exploited. The MSC is an independent global organisation set up to tackle the problem of overfishing by recognising and rewarding sustainable fisheries through its certification and eco-labelling programme.
McDonald’s will be the first company in its sector to introduce MSC certified white fish throughout Europe. Last year, the company sold approximately 100 million Filet-o-Fish portions across Europe.
Steve Easterbrook, President of McDonald’s Europe said, “McDonald’s will be making MSC labelled fish available at an affordable price to millions of our customers across Europe. We chose the MSC certification as the most robust and recognisable independent accreditation of our own sustainable fisheries standard. This is an important milestone in our commitment to ensure future long-term supply.”
Rupert Howes, CEO of the Marine Stewardship Council, commented, “McDonald’s Europe’s decision to source white fish products exclusively from fisheries that have met the rigorous MSC standard for sustainability is a tremendous testament to the ability of our industry leaders to transform the seafood market and help drive changes on the water. We’re delighted all of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish in Europe will be MSC certified and McDonald’s is making sustainable fish so widely available. This is a fantastic achievement and we hope that others will follow their lead.”
This is the latest landmark in McDonald’s pan-European sustainability drive. In 2001, the company established its European McDonald’s Agricultural Assistance Programme (MAAP), to increase transparency and drive improvements in quality and sustainability in its agricultural supply chain.
In 2007, McDonald’s helped promote consumer awareness of responsible sourcing by rolling out sustainably certified coffee in all of its European restaurants. The logos of organisations such as the Rainforest Alliance and Utz Certified now appear on one million cups of coffee served in McDonald’s European restaurants every day.
In September 2009, McDonald’s built on MAAP when it launched the Flagship Farms Programme; a project developed to encourage sharing and improvements in sustainable agriculture, through a direct dialogue amongst progressive farmers across Europe.
McDonald’s also announced a Sustainable Land Management Commitment in March this year. Based on an analysis conducted in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the SLMC requires that, over time, its suppliers only use agricultural raw materials for the company’s food and packaging that originate from sustainably-managed land.
