Seattle, WA – Marist College, located in Poughkeepsie, New York, in conjunction with dining services partner, Sodexo, has achieved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody certification, the world’s most recognized certification program for wild-caught, sustainable seafood. MSC Chain of Custody certification ensures that seafood products that bear the blue MSC ecolabel can be traced back to a fishery that has been certified as sustainable and well-managed against the global, science-based MSC standard.
Marist Dining Services by Sodexo offers more than 3,200 students, faculty and staff MSC certified sustainable seafood in the Student Center Dining Hall, which serves over 3,600 meals on a daily basis. A variety of seafood comprises up to 15% of dining hall menu items and includes MSC certified cod, halibut, pollock and salmon.
MSC Chain of Custody certification assures that in every step of the chain – from the fishers, to the processor, to the distributor and the end user – MSC certified seafood is not mixed with or substituted for non-certified seafood. To achieve MSC Chain of Custody certification, Marist College Dining Services by Sodexo worked with MSC Chain of Custody certified seafood supplier, Sysco Albany, to ensure complete traceability through the supply chain.
Sustainability is fundamental aspect of commitment to environmental stewardship
“Sustainability is a fundamental aspect of our overall commitment to environmental stewardship at Marist College and we are proud of the achievement of attaining MSC Chain of Custody certification,” said Steve Sansola, Marist College’s Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Co-Chair of the Campus Sustainability Advisory Committee. “By offering MSC certified sustainable seafood, students, faculty and staff are provided with high quality sustainable seafood products and our procurement contributes to the health of the world’s oceans by choosing seafood from fisheries that have been certified as sustainable and well-managed.”
Marist Dining Services’ additional sustainability initiatives include extensive purchasing of local and regional food products, cooking oil reclamation for bio-diesel or repurposing, promoting zero-waste catering events with compostable products and water-bottle filling stations. A recent renovation of the dining hall resulted in the installation of a vegetative roof, reduced energy and water use through high-efficiency ovens, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashing system, and a new hyper-accelerated food decomposition system which processes organic kitchen and dining hall food waste into organic rich water.
Demonstrated leadership helps to ensure sustainable seafood for future
“We congratulate Marist College Dining Services by Sodexo on attaining MSC Chain of Custody certification and the leadership demonstrated by their sustainable seafood commitment,” said Geoff Bolan, MSC’s U.S. program director. “By looking for the blue MSC ecolabel and choosing MSC certified sustainable seafood, students and faculty are able to make a difference and help to ensure sustainable seafood for this and future generations.”
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About Marist College Dining Services
Marist Dining Services is committed to providing multiple dining opportunities offering diverse menus that feature traditional favorites, ethnic dishes and international cuisines, with an emphasis on obtaining local and regional products. Through sustainable practices and educational programs, we provide opportunities for social interaction and awareness for a healthy and productive lifestyle.
About Sodexo
Sodexo serves more than 15 million customers daily throughout North America. Its potential for contributing to a more sustainable fishing industry is significant. It specifically calls for the sourcing of sustainable fish and seafood as part of its Better Tomorrow Plan and through its partnership with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices.
Visit Sodexo on Facebook and follow it on Twitter @SodexoUSA.
About the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization set up to help transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC runs the only certification and ecolabeling program for wild-capture fisheries consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization Guidelines for the Ecolabeling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries. These guidelines are based upon the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing and require that credible fishery certification and ecolabeling schemes include:
· Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilizing scientific evidence;
· Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
· Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.
The MSC has regional or area offices in London, Washington D.C., Tokyo, Sydney, The Hague, Beijing, Berlin, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Halifax, Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Santiago, Seattle, Moscow, Salvador, Singapore and Reykjavik.
In total, more than 370 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 255 certified and 121 under full assessment. Together, fisheries already certified or in full assessment record annual catches of around 11 million metric tons of seafood. This represents around 12 percent of the annual global harvest of wild capture fisheries. Certified fisheries currently land nearly nine million metric tons of seafood annually – this is close to 10 percent of the total harvest from wild capture fisheries. Worldwide, more than 27,000 seafood products, which can be traced back to the certified sustainable fisheries, bear the blue MSC ecolabel.
Source: Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)