Posted on
30 September 2011 - Singapore – Prominent
Singapore-based supermarket chain Cold Storage
has joined the WWF Singapore Sustainable
Seafood Group and marked its commitment
with an announcement that it will stop selling
all shark fin and shark products in its
42 outlets across the country.
WWF Singapore Sustainable
Seafood Group was launched in April this
year and provides businesses with the guidance
they need to source and promote sustainable
seafood while also playing a role in protecting
the marine environment.
“We want to play our
part towards caring for the environment.
Our team is committed to sourcing for quality,
sustainable seafood and other products in
our efforts to achieve long-term sustainability
and marine conservation,” explained Mr Victor
Chia, CEO, Cold Storage Supermarket.
Cold Storage is the
first supermarket in Singapore to implement
a “no shark fins policy”. It is also the
nation’s first retail food chain to source
and offer a wide range of sustainable seafood
recommended by WWF and offer Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC)-certified seafood such as
the hake fillet from South Africa.
The supermarket is a subsidiary of Dairy
Farm, a leading pan-Asian food retailer
that operates more than 5,300 outlets and
employs some 80,000 people in the Asia-Pacific
region.
“WWF is happy to support Cold Storage in
its efforts to make its retail operations
more sustainable and promote responsible
consumption in Singapore,” said Ms Amy Ho,
Managing Director, WWF Singapore. “For a
nation where seafood is a popular meal choice,
Cold Storage’s commitment offers consumers
an opportunity to make choices that will
protect fish stocks and endangered marine
species over the long term,” she added.
Mr Patrick Caleo, Country Manager Australia
and New Zealand, Marine Stewardship Council
says: “The Marine Stewardship Council applauds
Cold Storage’s efforts to provide customers
with the choice of purchasing seafood sourced
from sustainable fisheries, and we look
forward to working with them in their efforts
to offer MSC certified wild-caught seafood
products across their stores in the future.
As a result of Cold Storage’s efforts thousands
of Singaporeans will have access to sustainable
seafood which is a great development, and
the company should be commended for playing
its part in safeguarding seafood stocks
for future generations.”
Presently, SODEXO Singapore and Fairmont
Singapore are members of the WWF Singapore
Sustainable Seafood Group.
An average of 100,000 tons of seafood is
consumed each year in Singapore, making
it one of the biggest seafood consumers
in the Asia-Pacific region. Most of this
is imported from the Coral Triangle, the
world’s most diverse marine environment.
