Saving Seafood

Thai Union takes steps to end slavery in its supply chain

June 23, 2016 — In the past week, Thai Union published a Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement and hosted a meeting with leaders of the Migrant Worker Rights Network, as part of the company’s efforts to address slavery and human rights abuses in its supply chain.

The statement, published in support of the United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015, outlines the activities undertaken by the company to eliminate slavery and human trafficking from its business operations.

According to the report, Thai Union has terminated relationships with 17 suppliers as a result of forced labor or human trafficking violations since the start of 2015. The company also revealed that in 2015, “two serious issues of forced labor were uncovered within the Thai Union supply chain.”

“Thai Union worked with local NGOs, the Issara Institute and Migrant Workers Rights Network to provide humanitarian aid to workers, full compensation of lost benefits, and offers for safe and legal employment within Thai Union factories,” the report said. “Thai Union is committed to demonstrating full transparency and traceability in our supply chain. All supply chains are in the process of being mapped to source, and audited for compliance with quality and labor standards.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

From Ocean to Plate: Ensuring Traceable Supply Chain in the Seafood Industry

May 18, 2016 — In 2013, the ‘horsemeat scandal’ sent tremors through the European food industry. The fraudulent replacement of beef with cheaper equine alternatives in burgers and convenience food left consumers and retailers reeling, alarmed that they had fallen victim to the largest food fraud in decades.

The scandal not only highlighted the shortcuts being made by food manufacturers in their attempts to compete for the lowest price, it emphasized the complexity of global food supply chains and the challenges in monitoring every step. Almost overnight, the importance of traceability—the ability to track any food through all stages of production, processing and distribution—became high on public and political agendas.

‘Food scandals’ can leave consumers feeling duped, misled and distrustful of retailers and brands. They can also lead to people eating foods that violate their religious or moral values; or worse still   have impacts on their health.

Recognizing the negative impacts of incorrect labelling, governments around the world have responded. The Food Standards Agency in the UK, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Food Safety Authority and Food Standards Australia New Zealand, to name a few, commit extensive resources to ensuring the safety and correct labelling of our food. But the problem persists—and responsibility is often laid at the feet of food suppliers.

Read the full story at Food Safety Magazine

Putting seafood’s best foot forward

August 19, 2015 — Deck to Dinner, a new initiative launched in the United Kingdom last week, aims to repair damage done by years of ignorant information printed in the media, which have given the seafood industry a poor reputation according to Barry Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations (NFFO).

Inspiration for the initiative comes in the form of data from a survey by Research Now, which reveals that despite two thirds of us now eating fish once a week and supermarkets reporting increases in wet fish sales, 90 percent of people are only comfortable cooking familiar fish that is pre-prepared.

Deck to Dinner also builds on the latest research from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), which shows there has been a “dramatic reduction in fishing pressure” across North Atlantic commercial fish stocks as a result of strict management plans. The data show that between 2006 and 2015, the number of stocks fished at Maximum Sustainable Yield, which is seen as the gold standard of sustainability, increased from two to 36.

“We have been working with chefs for a while now, asking them to create recipes using underutilized species of sustainably sourced seafood, to prove they are just as versatile as the seafood staples. The aim is to get the media and the public to understand that there are sustainable and tasty alternatives to eating salmon, cod, haddock, tuna and prawns, which account for over 70 percent of all U.K. seafood sales,” explained Deas.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com