Special ASC offer for independent restaurants

ASC is witnessing increasing interest from hotel chains, such as Hilton in Singapore, which is offering ASC and MSC labelled seafood; while Hyatt which has made a global commitment to purchase more than 15 per cent of its seafood from MSC certified fisheries or ASC certified farms.

In the Netherlands, Sodexo is already actively promoting ASC certified seafood in its restaurants and canteens as part of the company's Better Tomorrow Plan.

However, to make the ASC programme more accessible for independent restaurants, ASC has partnered with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the certification programme for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability.

From 1 April, ASC and MSC are offering new simplified requirements to independent restaurants who wish to use the labels. German, Austrian and Swiss restaurants who want to offer ASC and/or MSC certified seafood now do not need to hire an independent auditor for a Chain of Custody audit. Instead, the restaurant enters directly into a license agreement with the MSCI. By signing this agreement, the restaurant agrees to follow ASC and MSC traceability guidelines and logo use guidelines.

In return, MSC will coordinate the audit of the restaurant with an independent auditor. Restaurants can apply for both the MSC ecolabel and the ASC logo for the same price (US $250). If you are interested please contact: restaurant@msc.org.