Birds Eye owner Nomad Foods has secured new contracts to increase its supply of sustainable Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified fish from 2023.
The frozen food giant is already the world’s largest branded purchaser of Marine Stewardship Council fish products, having worked with the organisation for over 25 years.
Nomad Foods said the contracts with ASC marked a “significant milestone” in its aim to source 100% of all fish and seafood sustainably by 2025.
Birds Eye added that off the back of the partnership it was “aiming to bring basa to the market in 2023 and is currently in discussions with UK retailers about what this looks like.”
CEO of Nomad Foods, Stefan Descheemaeker said that the expansion of its partnership with ASC-certified fisheries would enable the company to increase the range of sustainably sourced fish species used in its products.
He said: “We are progressing a number of partnerships aimed at developing and scaling emerging food technologies to support wider efforts to safeguard the long-term availability of quality, affordable and great-tasting seafood that is healthy for people and sustainable for the planet.”
CEO at ASC, Chris Ninnes, also offered his thoughts: “We are really pleased with Nomad Foods’ increased commitment to support sustainable aquaculture practices by incorporating more ASC-certified farmed fish into their product range.
“This is an important sign that environmentally sustainable and socially responsible production are key requirements for the aquaculture industry. We look forward to working more closely in the future.”
