Sustainable and responsible sourcing drives seafood quality and great prices

At Foodbuy we work in partnership with our suppliers to raise awareness of responsible sourcing practices and to encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices.

We work with companies like Direct Seafoods, who have a real passion for seafood, to ensure they source products responsibly and where available, with additional certifications such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP). For the five core lines consumed in the UK; cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns, they’re able to source certified products, working with suppliers who achieve best practice within the industry.

We take guidance from the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) to promote sustainable species and we suggest alternatives to lines that are rated as being fish to avoid (rated five or red). Traceability is key, and the MCS ratings list is a valuable tool for suppliers to assess the best fisheries to source from. Direct Seafoods work to ensure traceability at all times and so, in turn, we can offer our Foodbuy clients the confidence of a robust supply chain.

In addition to certification, we believe a great way to encourage use of sustainable species is to source more lesser known or underutilised alternatives. Direct Seafoods works to source from small day boats when appropriate, trying to maximise the use of the full catch rather than just the prime fish. In turn we work with our Foodbuy clients to encourage flexibility of thinking around menu alternatives – it’s win-win for everyone.

Our drive for sustainability is complemented by our creative thinking – it’s at the heart of our smart procurement processes. We’ve worked in partnership with Direct Seafoods on a number of exciting initiatives. One great example is to offer an alternative to some of the key fresh cod and haddock lines purchased by our clients.

Fishermen are out catching during the winter season when fish are fat, firm and at their best quality. These fish are then headed, cleaned and frozen at sea to lock in the flavour and freshness. Before being delivered to clients, the fish are professionally defrosted in tempering baths and filleted. These are known as ‘defrosted’ or ‘refreshed’ products.

This sort of creative thinking, our skin-in-the-game approach, and working hand in glove with our suppliers, brings real benefits for our Foodbuy clients. These defrosted lines are great for menu planning as volume can be guaranteed for largescale events. All defrosted lines offered are caught from sustainable sources from Iceland and Norway. Cod is rated as 3 and haddock as 2, on the Good Fish Guide.

Explore how our commitment to sustainability, our creative thinking and partnership approach can support you in achieving your bottom line goals, contact us here.