Direct Seafoods has introduced a comprehensive one-stop-shop for UK chefs, restaurants and caterers looking to source sustainable seafood products.
The Certified Sustainable Range of products was developed after the UK’s biggest supplier of fresh fish to the catering industry identified that restaurants nationwide wanted to improve their sourcing policies but were not sure how. Direct spent more than a year creating a product line that comprises a large number of independently-certified wild and farmed species in the formats desired by chefs.
The range includes Marine Stewardship Council-certified products as well as the first prawns in the UK market to be certified under the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices program.
“There was a clear gap in the market. No chef wants to source fish taken from at-risk stocks, but staying abreast of what is and what isn’t sustainable can be a laborious task. Through this new Certified Sustainable Range, we are playing our part and ensuring chefs have a go-to resource of sustainable seafood,” said Laky Zervudachi, Direct sustainability director. “The seafood industry is evolving at an unprecedented rate and sustainable certification is one of the biggest drivers for change. Our hope is that our new range will join the dots and inspire chefs to become more engaged with sustainability. We further believe that by putting certified products on their menus, chefs will encourage more fisheries and fish farms to become certified as sustainable by independent certifiers. It’s about contributing to a commercial environment that champions best practice throughout the supply chain.”
