Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.A.-based Bar Harbor Foods has received the 2020 Marine Stewardship Council U.S. Ocean Champion Award, the MSC has announced.
The award is given by the MSC to companies that have exemplified the organization’s commitment to seafood sustainability. Past winners of the award include Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, US Foods, Trans-Ocean Products Inc., and more.
“As a long-term partner, Bar Harbor has repeatedly shown leadership and innovation in their sourcing and integration of the MSC blue fish label as a staple component of their brand,” MSC USA Program Director Eric Critchlow said in a release. “They have shown that much of their innovation centers around including MSC-certified sustainable sources in their product development. It will be exciting to see what Bar Harbor will develop next!”
The company has been working with the MSC for 13 years, and introduced the first MSC-labeled seafood soups to the marketplace in 2008, and the first-ever MSC-certified clam chowder in 2017. Bar Harbor Foods currently has over 20 qualifying products utilizing the MSC label.
The company said it plans to continue its commitment to the MSC label, and will introduce the first ever MSC-certified condiments – cocktail and tartar sauces made with sustainably sourced clam juice – this summer.
The MSC Ocean Champion award was created in 2017 to reward fisheries and companies utilizing the MSC standard. Awardees are selected based on a number of criteria, including “demonstrated leadership.”
“It’s an honor for us to be recognized for simply being who we are,” Bar Harbor Foods National Sales Director Brian Cote said. “Sustainability has been a focal point of our platform for more than a decade, not just something to participate in when it is trendy.”
Photo courtesy of Bar Harbor Foods
