McDonald’s USA has become the first national restaurant chain to adopt the Marine Stewardship Council blue eco-label on its fish packaging in restaurants nationwide.
McDonald’s, which uses MSC certified wild-caught Alaska Pollock for its Filet-O-Fish sandwich, will begin displaying the MSC eco-label on product packaging, in-restaurant communications and external marketing beginning in February 2013 — coinciding with the launch of Fish McBites, McDonald’s newest fish menu item, which also uses wild-caught, MSC-certified Alaska Pollock.
In 2011, McDonald’s added its eco-label to its packaging in all U.K. restaurants.
More than 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. have met the MSC Chain of Custody standard for traceability.
“McDonald’s collaboration with the Marine Stewardship Council is a critical part of our company’s journey to advance positive environmental and economic practices to maintain the health and sustainability of fish stocks for the future,” said Dan Gorsky, senior VP of U.S. supply chain and sustainability. “We’re extremely proud of the fact that this decision ensures our customers will continue to enjoy the same great taste and high quality of our fish with the additional assurance that the fish they are buying can be traced back to a fishery that meets MSC’s strict sustainability standard.”