Swiss retailer Coop has said that it will only sell fish SKUs approved by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in its supermarkets and restaurants, making it the first Swiss chain to do so.
All Coop products – private label and otherwise – will now carry the WWF certification of ‘recommended’ or ‘satisfactory’ with regard to their sustainability standards. This is the case for all its fish products – chilled, frozen, tinned, etc.
The WWF’s managing director for Switzerland, Thomas Vellacott, praised Coop for “reaching a very important milestone. This goes to show just what is possible in terms of sustainability.”
In 2011, the retailer began a project in the Philippines to maintain its stock of yellowfin tuna that involves only line-fishing, and thus preserves stocks. This was launched in conjunction with the WWF and the German Society of Development and Investment.
Carrefour Spain recently held a forum on sustainable fishing at the country's fishing ministry.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
