THE UNIVERSITY CATERERS Organisation (TUCO) has teamed up with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to offer its members a new fast-track way to gain MSC certification.
The TUCO Ltd Group Certification initiative was launched today (23rd July) at the annual TUCO members conference, which this year focuses on sustainability. The announcement was met with a warm welcome from members, many of who will benefit from the quicker, simpler and less expensive new system.
By joining the group, university caterers will be supporting sustainable fisheries and helping create a wave of change in sustainable fishing. Group members will receive ready-made documents and materials needed for the MSC’s Chain of Custody traceability certification, essential for those wanting to display the ecolabel on their menus.
MSC certification is a consumer kitemark that shows the supplier has committed to the use of sustainably sourced seafood. Those who are MSC certified gain the right to display the MSC ecolabel on their products or menus.
Managing Director of TUCO, Julie Barker explains, “TUCO has always been about using the size of our joint membership to provide benefits to caterers and when we discovered that we could make MSC certification more accessible for universities by forming a large group, we knew it would be something that would be of real value to them. As sustainable sourcing of all ingredients, particularly fish, is such a key issue for the foodservice industry, we felt this was a strategically important move for our members, and set up a working party led and coordinated by our Contracts Officer, Jane Eve.
The group is a great way for us to be able to support the work of the MSC by getting more sustainable fish on more menus – we’re really excited about the amount of interest we’ve had already!”
