May 4, 2017 — SAO PAULO, Brazil — The following was released by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and the Marine Stewardship Council:
JBS, through 54 Swift shops in the Sao Paulo region of Brasil, have launched the first Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified retail seafood product line in Latin America.
The initial product line includes a variety of ASC certified salmon products from Chile as well as tilapia from Brasil.
Further ASC certified products are planned, including trout and bivalves. Shrimp, either from Brasil or from Ecuador, is a priority.
The ASC is also planning to introduce Brazilian native species standards next year that will make it possible to have certified tambaqui, pirarucu, pintado and pacu available.
For the MSC, Alaskan pollock and chum salmon are part of the launch. Alaskan Pacific cod will soon be added and Atlantic cod products are at planning stage.
Paulo Christofani, the project Manager at JBS, said “we are extremely proud to be the first retailer in Latin America to launch an ASC/MSC product line. Sustainability is a priority for JBS and we aim to engage with our customers with marketing materials to inform and promote this initiative”.
Laurent Viguie, Latin American Manager for the ASC: “JBS/Swift have showed real initiative to launch this product range in Brasil. They are being very pro-active in encouraging their suppliers to achieve ASC certification. We hope that this will encourage more retailers in the region to follow their example”.
Brian Perkins, America Regional Director for the MSC said: “When people purchase MSC certified seafood, their choice supports fishermen around the world who are working hard to meet the world’s most rigorous standard for environmental sustainability of wild-capture fishing.”