sustainable

French retail group Auchan, one of the world’s largest retailers, is introducing a groundbreaking trout, raised on a novel feed by Skretting enriched with algal oil from Veramaris and insect meal from InnovaFeed. For the first time, the entire value chain has come together to create a unique consumer offer, combining farming, feed efficiency, and alternative ingredients. Together, they achieved a significant boost of the nutritional value from the algal oils, while ingeniously replacing the feed fish with insect meal and fish trimmings. It’s the sustainable usage of a previously discarded resource.

The world needs a new vision for fisheries in the 21st century, said Qu Dongyu, FAO Director General in his speech at the opening of the International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability.

International food processors and retailers were invited by Sealed Air to the company’s brand-new Milan Packforum in June this year for an update on how the market is changing from commodity to premium products and how industry players manage to do so while improving their green credentials. At the event, Rabobank – a leading international bank with a mission to promote greater sustainability in food production – showed that adding value to products and following convenience trends are key factors for retailers to succeed. Rabobank demonstrated this using the example of salmon, which now shows the highest consumption among all proteins thanks to products being innovative, convenient for consumers and packaged for premium positioning.

The Eurobarometer, a survey since 1973 of economic and social indicators, operated by the European Commission, has found, once again, that Europeans love fish. European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella reacted to the most recent report by highlighting the importance of ensuring the sustainability of European fisheries so that “…our citizens can enjoy these tasty products in the long term.” Considerable progress has been made in this regard over the last years, he said, adding that aquaculture too played an important role, “farmed fish from the EU is a sustainable source of protein and other nutrients. In a low-carbon society, its role will only increase.” Europeans spend twice as much, per person, on fish than do Americans because, according to the survey of people’s opinion, most (74% of survey respondents) find it healthy, and tasty. Europeans also prefer the local fishmonger, who sells local fish, rather than other retail channels, where the fish may be imported, and where the seller may not be as acquainted with seafood, how to treat it, recipes, and so on. Fishmongers also often offer a more varied assortment of seafood, which the survey respondents also valued. Trust was another issue, the respondents also indicated they felt greater confidence in their seafood purchases because of the strict EU rules on product quality, labelling, and other benefits.