Compass Group has cooked up deals for sustainable fish in the UK and the USA. Photo: Compass

Compass points to more sustainable salmon

Compass Group USA has announced a contract for responsibly sourced salmon in the Mid-Atlantic region, ensuring the fish its uses is at least equivalent to the Seafood Watch yellow Good Alternative recommendation and is certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).

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The move follows hard on the heels of last week's move by its parent company, Compass Group UK & Ireland, to become the first major foodservice business to join the Sustainable Seafood Coalition (SSC), further demonstrating its commitment to using responsibly sourced fish.

"This is a huge success and Compass helped drive the industry toward a sustainably-raised farmed salmon," said Julia Jordan, Director of Sustainability at Compass Group USA. "Salmon is one of the most popular choices of seafood among our guests and we are proud to meet customer demand with options that are responsible."

Significant step

To the firm, securing these contracts with wild fisheries and aquaculture is a significant step towards helping accelerate change through conscious purchasing to ensure there is enough sustainable seafood available for future generations.

Compass Group USA follows recommendations from Seafood Watch, a partner of 15 years, and strives to only source Best Choice (green) and Good Alternative (yellow) rated seafood from a sustainable supply chain.

"Compass Group's commitment to only source responsible seafood, in particular, their commitment to responsible salmon, provides a powerful incentive for producers to bring responsible seafood to market, connects consumers to ocean-friendly products and helps push the industry toward sustainable sourcing," said Shawn Cronin, Seafood Watch Business Program Manager.

Corporate responsibility

Compass Group UK and Ireland's decision to join the SSC - a partnership of UK businesses working to ensure a healthy future for the oceans - follows the launch earlier in the year of Compass’ Corporate Responsibility Report 2016, which outlined a commitment to avoid endangered species of fish, buy more certified fish every year through an existing partnership with the Marine Conservation Society and only use line and pole caught tuna in packaged sandwiches.

In a further move to meet its commitments on fish sourcing, Levy Restaurant UK, the sports, leisure and hospitality catering specialists and part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, signed up to the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge in August 2016, making the commitment to buy, serve and promote only sustainable fish at all its venues.

Duncan Gray, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Compass Group UK & Ireland said: “We love to serve excellent food and when it comes to seafood we know that a great seafood dish must be both delicious and sustainable. We’re proud to now be members of the Sustainable Seafood Coalition and extend our dedication to only using responsibly sourced fish across our business.”

Katie Miller, Sustainable Seafood Coalition coordinator, commented: “To have Compass Group UK & Ireland aligned to our vision is fantastic. They work behind the scenes at around 15,000 locations in so it’s brilliant to know people all across the UK will be eating responsibly sourced fish. Compass Group UK & Ireland is leading the way for other major foodservice businesses to step up their public commitments to seafood sustainability.”