SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton April 23, 2013 — BRUSSELS — Chris Lischewski, CEO of Bumble Bee Foods, announced this morning at the European Seafood Show that Bumble Bee Foods was launching a new product line of canned seafood called Wild Selections. Initially the product line will contain MSC certified albacore and skipjack tuna.
Eventually the line will expand to include salmon, shrimp, clams and sardines.
All products will be MSC certified, and will also have both the MSC logo and the WWF Panda logo on the can.
Bumble Bee will donate 13 cents of every can sold to WWF to further Marine conservation. The company has guaranteed that it will spend at least $ 1 million supporting WWF over the next three years.
According to Lischewski, the decision to develop the Wild Solutions product line is an example of the company’s public commitment to sustainability, and to demonstrate the ability to manage a line of fully certified products on a larger scale.
The WWF will participate with a panda logo on the top of every can.
The labeling for the new product line of certified products was worked out over the past year between Bumble Bee, Rupert Howes, CEO of the MSC, and WWF. Bill Fox, Vice Chair. Vice President & Managing Director for Fisheries, WWF-U.S represented WWF in the negotiations.
This step is recognizing that there are consumers who want to see a line of fully certified seafood products. And according to Lischewski, it was important to acknowledge the MSC as part of this process.
Initially the line will have small volumes compared to Bumble Bee’s other US offerings, but the full label commitment and the partnership with WWF as well as the MSC is something that has a potential to grow over time.
Speaking at the European Tuna conference the day before, Chris Lischewski said he hoped one day to see all tuna certified by the MSC. (see European Tuna Conference says Higher Tuna Prices here to Stay in our news today)
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.