Harrison Catering Services pledge: Sustainable fish for the future
Harrison Catering Services (1) has become the latest caterer to sign the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge to adopt a fully sustainable fish policy. The pledge will see sustainable fish served across the schools and workplaces throughout the UK where Harrison provides its foodservice.
Harrison’s sustainable fish commitment adds to the company’s string of accolades for good food. It has achieved over 170 Bronze, Silver and Gold Food for Life Catering Marks in the schools it serves, received a Good Egg Award from Compassion in World Farming for its use of British free-range eggs, and has introduced a range of completely compostable branded eco packaging.
The caterer has already taken steps to promote sustainable fish. It has removed species considered ‘fish to avoid’ by the Marine Conservation Society, and it offers craft training on sustainable fish to its cooks and chefs using the specialist expertise of M&J Seafood (2). The pledge means that Harrison will now put in place a sustainable fish policy and work toward achieving MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) Certification.
Harrison’s pledge is part of the Sustainable Fish Cities project (3), which is now active in 13 of the UK towns and cities in the Sustainable Food Cities network (4) and has seen caterers serving well over 500 million meals per year take action on sustainable fish. Each city has been challenged to gather pledges from iconic local caterers, restaurants, universities and workplaces, in a bid to become the world’s first Sustainable Fish City. Sustainable fish is a particularly hot topic for schools at the moment, since the new School Food Plan (5) requires schools to serve fish at least once a week, with oily fish at least once every three weeks, and recommends that all fish should be sustainably sourced.
Ruth Westcott, co-ordinator of Sustainable Fish Cities, said:
“It is hugely exciting to have Harrison on board. Thanks to their portfolio of iconic sites in London and the South-East, the pledge will particularly boost the Sustainable Fish Cities campaigns for London and Bournemouth and Poole. Shortly after Harrison announced they were taking this step, The Jordans & Ryvita Company, a very important Poole employer, were able to sign the pledge, thanks to Harrison’s implementing a sustainable fish policy on their behalf.”
Gareth Harrison, Joint Managing Director of Harrison, said:
”Harrison is committed to sustainability throughout our business, so signing the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge is a natural fit for us and will complement our existing sustainability initiatives, including our compostable eco packaging, our extensive work with Food for Life and our use of British-sourced free-range eggs, Red Tractor-certified Cheddar cheese and fresh, British-sourced meat and poultry.”
ENDS
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For Further Information, please contact:
Ruth Westcott
Tel: 0203 5596 777 Email: ruth@sustainweb.org Web: www.sustainweb.org
Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming
Development House, 56 - 64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT
Notes to editors:
(1) Founded in 1994, Harrison Catering Services is an independent, family-owned company providing contract catering to clients across the UK. The Harrison proposition is centred around the on-site preparation and cooking of top quality meals made with fresh ingredients. Over 100 clients enjoy a Harrison foodservice, with more than 100,000 meals being served each day by approximately 2,000 staff across more than 270 locations. For more information, visit our website at www.harrisoncatering.co.uk.
(2) M&J Seafood are a Sustainable Fish Cities signatory, and produce a simple-to-use list of products which are MSC Certified or rated 1-3 by the Marine Conservation Society http://www.mjseafood.com/sustainability/safely-sourced-seafood-list/
(3) Sustainable Fish Cities is a campaign organised by an alliance of not-for-profit organisations, sustainable catering advisors and marine conservation specialists. Members of the Sustainable Fish Cities working group include Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Pisces Responsible Fish Restaurants and the Sustainable Restaurant Association. Sustainable Fish Cities is coordinated by Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, see: https://www.sustainweb.org/sustainablefishcity/
(4) The Sustainable Food Cities network is an alliance of public, private and third sector organisations using food as a vehicle for positive change. It is coordinated by Food Matters, Soil Association and Sustain, and is funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.www.sustainablefoodcities.org
(5) The Department for Education’s School Food Standards are available here: http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/School-Food-Standards-Guidance-FINAL-140911-V2C.pdf
Published Wednesday 18 February 2015
Sustainable Fish: A campaign to protect precious marine environments and fishing livelihoods, and call for fish to be bought from sustainable sources. We want to show what can be done if people and organisations make a concerted effort to change their buying habits.
