April 26, 2013 — The Sustainable Seafood Coalition (SSC) has released a draft voluntary code of conduct to make seafood labeling consistent and easy for U.K. consumers to understand with accurate information on sustainability and responsible sourcing.
The “SSC Code of Conduct on Environmental Labeling and Self-Declared Environmental claims of Fish and Seafood” has been agreed on by the 27 SSC members, including Tesco, Waitrose, Morrissons, Marks & Spencer and Birds Eye.
It is the first seafood labeling code to be proposed by U.K. retailers.
The coalition, which was established in 2011 by ClientEarth, is seeking feedback on the draft from the public and interested stakeholders for a period of six weeks, from 26 April to 7 June 2013.
The code sets out minimum commitments made by the members regarding voluntary environmental labeling, including self-declared environmental claims on or in relation to their own fish whether used on product labels, menus, in-store signs or other communications.
It is also supposed to ensure that such self-declared environmental claims have a consistent meaning in the market and avoid misleading consumers.
Read the full story at Seafood Source